


No Such Thing As Bad Publicity

by Miss_Nihilist



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Burning Rescue Adopts Mad Burnish, Canon-Typical Levels of Political Corruption, Crack Treated Seriously, Daddy Issues, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fictional politics, Galo and Lio eat in every chapter GUARANTEED, Getting Together, Governor Galo Thymos, Idiots in Love, Lio gets adopted no matter how much he doesn't like it, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Team as Family, and he REALLY doesn't like it, recovering from trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:01:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28882131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Nihilist/pseuds/Miss_Nihilist
Summary: From his suit jacket, Galo unfurls an official-looking document, with the city's seal at the bottom next to several swirling signatures. Galo's grin has the intensity to rival the sun. "I'm running for Governor next year!"Absolute dead silence. No one says a word. Not a soul even dares to breathe.Which makes it audible to every person in the room when Lio, red in the face, gets to his feet and shrieks, "What?"In which Galo learns what "legislation" is, Lio struggles to rebuild while being public enemy number one, and a slanderous rumor that they're dating might just end up being their saving grace.
Relationships: Burning Rescue Members & Mad Burnish Members (Promare), Everyone is part of this family and they all love each other, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 101
Kudos: 128





	1. We've Got Our Work Cut Out For Us

**Author's Note:**

> I have Promare brain rot and could not stop thinking about this concept, so take it. It’s written to be as short as possible because I have too many other projects going on, but I needed to get this out of my system. This was going to be a long oneshot, but then the ideas really got away from me so now it's six chapters and 40k words. I'll update once a week since this whole thing is pre-written. Enjoy if you can.
> 
> I wrote this whole thing in six days. I am dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has a playlist [HERE](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZbILQYfUUYRVedCXMdCEz?si=d-A0i6G4RU6YHzfgayyx6A). I organized it to follow the progression of Lio and Galo's relationship from the end of the movie to the end of this fic. Chapter one encompasses everything from _氷に閉じ込めて_ by Superfly to _Bishops Knife Trick_ by Fall Out Boy. Follow along while you read/listen if you want.

They hold a hasty press conference outside of the Parnassus once all of the Burnish have been freed. In the background, Galo knows that Ignis is making sure that Kray, Vulcan, and Heris are being processed correctly, and he knows that Remi is off collecting the list of ten-thousand passengers for them to make public. And he cares about those things, but he only has so much energy. His burning soul can't keep going forever without fuel.

Getting all of the former-Burnish out took seven hours. And Galo can't remember the last time he ate or had a decent night's sleep. Before he got thrown in Kray's prison, maybe, but how long was he in there for?

The only blessing is that the press seems to be just as tired as them. Not a surprise, given the state of the city. No one slept very well the night before, so the reporters and interviewers and even the paparazzi mostly just gather on still-trembling legs, jot down what Galo and Lio say, and leave. It's not very exciting, but it has to be done. Galo does most of the talking while Lio subtly rests his head on Galo's shoulder and tries not to fall asleep standing up.

Considering that just twelve hours before, Lio was a rampaging dragon setting the city on fire, it has no right being as adorable as it is. The fact that Gueira gave Lio his jacket, which is too big for him, might have something to do with how precious Lio looks at the moment.

So Galo struggles not to yawn because Aina told him that it looks undignified on camera, and he tells the whole story. He starts from Lio's arrest and the award ceremony that the city had for him, to confronting Kray about his human experimentation, to the lab that they found beneath the ice and the truth about the Burnish's origin, all the way to forming the Galo de Lion and sending the promare back to their own universe. Lio adds in sometimes, but only for the parts that Galo wasn't there for or the bits that Galo fumbles over, which is more of the science-y parts. He seems incredibly bored with the whole affair.

But they get through it. Thirty minutes of talking later, Galo has a pounding headache but they're done. The press has questions, obviously, but Lio takes one look at all of the people clamoring for his attention and turns and walks away. Galo goes with him, because Lio doesn't look like he's walking straight and Galo has rapidly developed an intense urge to make sure that Lio is alright at all times. Luckily, Varys holds off the press for them, promising that they'll be having a second press conference to answer questions once everyone has taken some time to rest.

Lio makes a beeline for where Gueira and Meis are waiting for him some distance away, but he doesn't make it that far. He stops, looks confused for a second, and then his legs crumble and Galo is barely able to catch Lio before he hits the ground, his reflexes are so shot from lack of sleep.

Gueira and Meis aren't doing much better, but they're at Lio's side in an instant. "What happened?" Gueira asks, hands flickering over Lio's body without ever actually touching him. As if he's afraid to make the damage worse.

Over Gueira's shoulder, Meis is conducting himself only slightly better. "Is he hurt? You were right next to him the whole time!"

Galo shakes his head. He blinks hard to try and wake himself up, because passing out sounds amazing right now, but he can't let himself do it with Lio still in his arms. "Nah. It's just exhaustion." He sighs, shifts Lio in his grip. "We keep blankets in the Burning Rescue truck. It won't be super comfortable, but he can sleep there." When that doesn't seem to satisfy Lio's mother hens, Galo adds, "You two can stay with him."

"Obviously," Gueira retorts. He acts unimpressed, but there's a noticeable slump to his posture now. It's almost like relief. "We weren't gonna let you take the boss anywhere without us, anyway."

Meis nods. It looks like the movement takes him far too much effort. "Lead the way."

Not that he needs permission, but Galo complies. He carries Lio to the truck and wonders if Lio's really that light or if he's just that strong. It's hard to tell with his thoughts as sluggish and half-baked as they are. He climbs up into the truck and stumbles, but manages not to drop Lio. Then Galo riffles through the storage cabinets at the back, shoving the first aid kit aside, and pulls out every blanket that he can get his hands on.

"Here," he mutters; tosses them to Gueira and Meis. They get comfortable in the corner, and Galo places Lio between them with as much grace as he can muster. Which isn't a lot at the moment. Galo sits down in Lucia's desk chair, and _fuck_ , just taking the weight off of his feet feels ten times better.

Gueira is busy bundling up as many blankets around them as possible without jostling Lio when Meis mutters, "You should sleep too, firefighter."

Galo doesn't hear him. He's already asleep.

* * *

When Lio wakes up, it's so quiet that his ears are buzzing. He's disoriented for a moment because he's laying somewhere soft and warm, which feels nothing like the old mattress he has back at the settlement.

Then he remembers the settlement crashing, the frozen bodies shattered into pieces, the sheer _terror_ that gripped him when Gueira and Meis sent him flying, and he shoots up and pries his eyes open even though he'd like nothing more than to go back to sleep.

Lio is breathing heavily. He reaches for his fire in impulse but gets no response. Nothing, not even a "no." There's just nothing there to reply to him, even though he knows there should be. He panics, breathing turning labored, and then he processes his surroundings and the confusion pushes back his upcoming panic attack somewhat.

He's on a couch and swaddled in blankets. Lio sees a garage just ahead of him, holding an enormous fire truck and a bright-red rescue jet. If that wasn't enough for him to piece together his surroundings, then the blue-haired man sleeping on the bed across from him is enough for Lio to piece it together.

He takes a deep, slow breath. Let's it out. The memories come back to him all at once, and Lio remembers. Kray is going to trial. The promare were sent away. He and Galo saved the world. He remembers bits of the press conference that they did together, but Lio can't imagine why he's at Burning Rescue HQ now, sleeping on their couch.

He pushes the blankets off with the intent to get up and immediately regrets it. A wave of cold air hits him and Lio shivers. He's never been cold before. He draws Gueira's jacket tighter around his bare chest and decides immediately that he hates it.

"Good morning." A voice startles Lio. He looks over and, next to a row of lockers, sees a man polishing what appears to be a hood ornament. Galo introduced him as the team captain before, but Lio is having trouble remembering his name now. He sets down what he was working on and walks over to Lio. "Or, I suppose I should say good evening. Did you sleep well?"

Being polite seems safe enough, so Lio nods. "Well enough," he says as if he didn't just have the deepest nap of his life. "Sorry, I'm blanking on your name."

"Ignis Ex," he offers, unbothered.

He puts his hands in his pockets, maybe trying to be casual, and Lio admires Ignis' tribal tattoos because it's easier than making eye contact with those expressionless sunglasses. And because it keeps him from thinking that Ignis is much bigger and stronger than him, and he could have a weapon in those pockets, and Lio doesn't have his promare, or Gueira or Meis, and he's defenseless, and always been a nuisance for firefighters, and he doesn't know the layout of this building or its escapes at all, and—

"Are you hungry?"

Lio blinks. He stares at nothing in particular for a few seconds more, then manages to drag his gaze back to Ignis'. "Sorry?" He asks.

"Are you hungry?" Ignis repeats in the same tone as before. Completely patient. "You were unconscious for almost forty hours. I thought that you might want food."

" _Forty?_ " Lio's jaw hangs. "Wait, so— Is Galo—? Has he woken up yet? And where are Gueira and Meis?"

"Galo's been asleep for as long as you have," Ignis confirms with a nod. "He woke up briefly when we moved you two out of the truck, but I don't think he'll remember that. We all felt it was better to let you two sleep after how you were pushing yourselves. As for your friends, I made them go to the showers. It seemed like they were going to drive themselves crazy just staring and waiting for you to wake up. But I bet they'll be happy to see you once they get out."

And Lio's going to be happy to see them, too. They didn't have the chance for a proper reunion with how exhausted they were before.

He gets lost in thought; forgets to answer. When Ignis speaks again, his mouth is quirked ever so slightly in amusement. "So, food?" He prompts. Third time's the charm.

Lio's stomach growls painfully, as if now it's finally been given permission. He's gone longer without food before, but Lio's never been this hungry. He nods, salivating. "Please." Well-rested and well-fed means that he's ready for the day. Ready to keep putting his best foot forward. The Burnish might not exist anymore, but that doesn't mean that his people don't need a leader.

"Come on. The kitchen is right through here." Ignis gestures for Lio to follow him through an archway next to the couch.

After a moment's thought, Lio stands on shaky legs and only leaves the blankets when he reminds himself that he still has his dignity. Gueira's jacket and his torn leather pants are woefully unequipped for the cold.

In the other room, Lio finds a cozy kitchen with a large dining table. Big enough for the whole team, no doubt. Ignis opens the fridge, revealing row after row stacked with plastic tubs crammed to the brim with food. Lio can't help it — he chokes on his surprise, mouth agape and eyes wide.

"The others went home already for the evening," Ignis explains, "but they were sure to drop off as much food as they could before they left. We take turns cooking here at the station, so I can promise you that all of it is at least edible. Take your pick."

Lio doesn't even know what most of it is, to be honest. In the end, he settles for the closest container to him and snatches it up like it'll be taken away if he's too slow. Then Lio just stands there in the kitchen, holding it with uncertainty. Does he eat it cold? With his bare hands? He can't imagine that Ignis would approve of those table manners.

But Ignis takes pity on him and takes the container from Lio, popping the lid off before shoving it into the microwave for three minutes. Then he digs through a drawer and comes back with a fork for Lio, pressing it into his uncertain hands.

"Help yourself any time to food," he assures. "Glasses are in the far left cabinet if you want water. I'll go get you some clothes to change into. I think those pants will have to be thrown out."

Though Lio nods, he can't help but feel a twinge of regret. This used to be his favorite outfit, and now it's gone. Just like his fire. "Alright." Then he considers it and adds, "Thank you. Not just for housing me, but you and your squad's efforts with the Burnish were—"

"No." Ignis cuts him off without raising his voice, holding up a hand to signal Lio to be quiet. "Don't thank any of us. If even half of what Galo said about what the two of you did is true…" He lowers his sunglasses to gaze at Lio with nothing but admiration. "...then it's the least we can do. Enjoy your lasagna." And he claps Lio on the shoulder and leaves, apparently off to go scrounge together a suitable outfit.

Lio is left alone to think. He doesn't think about the kindness in a stranger's eyes, because if he starts crying then he won't stop. He thinks about the housing plans that need to be put in place. The food programs that he needs to organize. The year-long cleaning expedition that they'll need to get downtown liveable again. He still has so much to do.

"Boss?" It's Gueira's voice, from outside the kitchen. "Boss, are you—? Oh, my God." He swings around the archway and freezes as soon as his eyes land on Lio. What was it that he told himself about not crying, again?

Lio settles for a wave and a weak smile because he doesn't trust himself to speak. It doesn't matter, though. Gueira rushes him, hitting Lio with such momentum that they have to spin themselves in order to keep from falling over or knocking into the cabinets.

"You're awake! Oh, Boss, _fuck_. We were so worried," Gueira hisses, clutching him tight and burying his face in Lio's bed head. He's still damp and hot from his shower but Lio doesn't care.

It doesn't take Meis long to join them, and then Lio has his arms around his two best friends and he's so glad to see them that he doesn't even lecture them about sacrificing themselves for him. He does, however, mock gag when Meis' wet hair ends up hitting him in the face.

"I love you guys," Lio whispers. The timer on the microwave beeps and all three of them ignore it. And if Gueira or Meis notice that his voice cracked, then they ignore that, too.

* * *

As soon as consciousness graces him, Galo rolls over the side of the bed he's laying on and dry heaves over the tile. He feels like absolute _shit_ , no doubt due to the way that his stomach is cramping so hard that he feels like he's about to vomit it out. The muscle cramps and bruises he can feel definitely aren't helping. He chokes on spit and thinks that he might have actually thrown up if there was anything in his stomach to upchuck.

It's not nausea, though, because Galo has never wanted to eat something so badly in his _life_. He glances down at the blankets and considers shoving scraps into his mouth for a moment, but then he recognizes the Burning Rescue motif and realizes that he's at work.

Awesome. Aina always keeps some leftovers in the fridge. They're in her Tupperware, sure, but she never labels them which means that they're free game.

Galo stumbles to his feet, haphazardly kicking the blankets aside, and just about sprints into the kitchen. He flings open the fridge and takes a moment to be impressed by how well-stocked it is before he grabs the closest container to him. Popping the lid off, Galo is _incredibly_ pleased to see that it's home-made grilled chicken. No time for the microwave. He just barely has the presence of mind to grab a fork from the drawer before he's stabbing the poor chicken breast and lifting it to his mouth to rip a huge chunk out of it.

As soon as he swallows, the pain in Galo's stomach lessens and he can hear himself think again. He just about moans, he's so relieved. He goes to take another bite, then Galo finally registers the rest of the kitchen and he gags around a mouthful of food.

Sitting at the Burning Rescue kitchen table, as casual as can be, Lio is watching him with amusement. Lio Fotia. The leader of the Mad Burnish, badass extraordinaire, and single most stubborn person that Galo has ever met in his life — sitting at the table in the place where Galo works and wearing Aina's clothes as if nothing is amiss and all is right in the world.

"Good morning," Lio says when it becomes clear that Galo isn't going to need the Heimlich. And, yep, that's definitely amusement in his voice. And on his face. Fuck, he has such a nice smile, even when it's only a little curve of his lips that's hidden mostly by the tilt of his head and his ridiculously-soft-looking hair. "You slept for about two days straight."

He swallows hard around the half-chewed food in his mouth. It hurts going down, but it leaves his mouth open for talking more with Lio, so he considers that a win. "Did I?" Galo takes another bite anyway because he's still starving. "Huh. Felt longer than that." He turns back to the still-open fridge to browse his options more thoughtfully this time, shooting glances at Lio over his shoulder just to be sure that he's actually there and Galo isn't hallucinating. "What're all of those papers for? And where's everyone else?"

"Well, work started an hour ago, and Burning Rescue has been drafted to do clean-up in order to get the Parnassus out of the middle of the city and clear the rubble away. I sent Meis with them because I heard that there would be other former-Burnish volunteering." Lio takes a bite out of the plastic container in front of him. From what Galo can see of it, Lio is working on slowly picking apart a brisket. "And Gueira is helping hand out food and blankets for those without housing at the moment. They offered to go into the field for me so that I could stay here and focus on this." He gestures to the pile of papers in front of him and makes a face. "That, and they insisted that I was in no condition to be doing physical labor."

Something about Lio's tone tells Galo not to comment, even though he agrees on that. Fuck, much as he wants to be out there himself, Galo gets the feeling that Ignis won't let him until a day or two more of mandatory bed rest. He's too tired after the week he had to even _think_ about pushing his boss on this one. "What are the papers for, then?" He asks again because that seems like a safe subject and he likes hearing Lio talk.

" _This_ ," Lio says, spitting the word like it's poison, "is a collection of summaries regarding Promepolis law and criminal procedures, an annotated history of Congress' rulings in the past, a list of all the people who were on the Parnassus, a list of all the Burnish who didn't survive so that they can be honored in some way, and examples of drafted laws so that I can write up my own proposals."

After another minute of staring in the fridge, Galo eventually selects a seven-layer dip and pops it into the microwave. While it's heating up, he starts going through the cabinets looking for chips. "And how's it all going so far?"

Lio muffles a long-suffering groan in his hands. He drops his head down against the tabletop, angling his face to pop a bite of brisket into his mouth. He groans again while he chews.

"That bad, huh?" Galo can't find any tortilla chips so he settles for Red Hot Daritas.

"The government in this city is a joke!" Lio snaps, lifting his head to glare at the stacks and stacks of paper in front of him. It looks very much like he would like to set it all on fire. He probably does. "Congress gave complete authority to Kray Foresight a year ago and, since then, they haven't done a single thing other than continue lining their pockets with bribes from lobbyists and pack their bags for preparation to leave on the Parnassus. You know that every sitting member of Congress was on the passenger list? Every. Single. _One of them_. And now, half of them are missing, no doubt having taken their money and ran, and the rest are scrambling to cover their asses! I'm not going to get _anything_ past those clowns. They can't be impeached, because all the other congressmen are going back each other up, so the only thing I can do is wait a year and a half for the next voting period when _hopefully_ the people of Promepolis have enough sense to replace their terrible representatives with _anyone else_. Assuming, of course, that I can sway the heavily anti-Burnish sentiment in that time frame _and_ make sure that the votes aren't rigged."

Galo sits down across from Lio with his chips and dip as he polishes off the last of his chicken. "I'm sorry, that all sounds really stressful," he offers sympathetically. When Lio doesn't reply, he adds, "At least you have plenty of time to draft up water-tight legislation."

Lio snorts on a laugh. It doesn't sound like he's enjoying the joke, but the half-smile that he gives is at least half-genuine, so Galo will take it. He reaches over and pops a chip into his mouth. "Legislation is a big word for you," he drawls, teasing.

"Remi used to study political science so he talks about it a lot," Galo says. "I don't really know what legislation means. Did I use it right?"

That time, Lio graces him with a full smile. "Yes," he sighs fondly. "Good job." He snatches another chip and Galo tries not to stare when Lio licks the Red Hot dust off of his fingers.

After, Lio goes back to his paperwork and Galo stays at the table to finish eating. It's a companionable silence and one that Galo hopes he isn't making a mistake by getting used to.

* * *

Lio is cleared to be working in the field, but he's taking the day off out of anticipation for this event. He can't trust himself to be around his people when he's as angry as he knows he's about to be.

He's alone at Burning Rescue HQ with Lucia, who's working with the more tech-savvy side of things to help get the city back on its feet again. She's taken a break for lunch and, at Lio's prompting, pulls up Promepolis Daily News on channel seven.

Right now, it's literally just the upcoming week's weather forecast. Lucia groans, leaning back as far as her chair will go and shoving a sucker unceremoniously into her mouth. "Why are we watching this garbage?" She whines. "It's so _boring_. Come on, you used to blow up buildings and make motorcycles out of _fire_! Is this really your idea of _entertainment_?" Perched on her desk, Vinny is too busy gazing lovingly at Lio to agree with her like he usually would.

" _Shh_!" Lio quiets her as the weather segment _finally_ ends. He makes a mental note to purchase an umbrella and cranks the volume up. "It's the lieutenant governor's inauguration. I want to see what kind of god-awful speech she's going to make."

The footage on-screen cuts to the location of the temporary capital building. City hall had been destroyed with the rest of the Parnassus, so now all of the useless officials are huddling in an old military base at the edge of town until a quick replacement can be built. Because that's _so much more important_ than housing. God, Lio is grinding his teeth and the woman hasn't said a word yet.

After a useless, flowery introduction by some other official that Lio doesn't know the name of, Yvette Espinosa-Miranda takes the stage. Lio feels his blood boiling just looking at her, the same amount of disgust that he felt when he watched her disembark the Parnassus with the rest of the dazed passengers just a week before.

But because Kray is being held in maximum security until his trial and sentencing, the lieutenant governor has to step in to replace him. Lio's never heard anything about her, but he takes one look at her painted smile and knows that she's just as bad as Kray. Figures. The man surrounded himself with the sort of money-grubbing ass-sniffers that would do whatever he said without question, and now the rest of them have to clean up his mess.

The polite applause from the audience gathered dies down and Governess Miranda smiles like she has a gun to her head. " _Thank you all for being here on this momentous occasion,"_ she says over the courtyard. Lio snorts. Of course her first words are pointless, dripping with false politeness, and praising all of the other corrupt bystanders who are letting her speak at that podium. _"Despite all the efforts to tear our city apart, it warms my heart to see us all able to come together and keep pushing forward through this adversity."_

Lio's digging his fingers into his arms so hard that it _hurts_. "That _bitch_ ," he snarls, as the realization sinks in. Lio knows exactly where the rest of this speech is going and she's only said two sentences. "She's going to blame the Burnish for all of this! As if we're the bad guys when the government that put _her_ in power was hunting us like animals!"

Lucia looks mildly concerned, glancing between Lio and the screen. "Didn't she pardon you of all crimes?" She asks, pointing at Lio with her sucker.

"Because it doesn't matter if I'm in jail or not!" Lio paces back and forth, incensed. "I'm not creating controversy if I'm in jail! And if I'm not creating controversy, if the leader of the _evil_ Mad Burnish isn't allowed to roam free, then what are people going to be angry about? Maybe the lack of housing? Maybe the limited access to food and clean drinking water? I'm a good scapegoat, nothing more!" He throws his hands up in frustration. "If people are throwing rocks at me and protesting terrorists not being locked up, then guess what they're _not_ doing?" Lio gestures wildly to the screen. "They're _not_ demanding that she gets thrown in right next to Kray, just like all of his supporters should be!"

He's panting heavily, red-faced by the time he finishes. Vinny is cowering, hiding behind his hat as best he can manage. Lucia reaches over to pet Vinny reassuringly, then reaches into her pocket and pulls out another sucker. Lio glares at her, exasperated, but takes it and tears the paper off before shoving it into his mouth unhappily. The sugar does little to help.

It doesn't matter if he's in jail or not, anyway. People run in the other direction when they see him on the streets. Or they scream. Or they throw things at him — everything from rocks to trash to their phones, if the person in a throwing mood happens to be holding it at the time. There isn't an in-tact store in Promepolis that will let Lio inside. In order to get any clothes at all, he had to give his sizes to Galo with _very clear instructions_ about what sort of clothing Lio wanted. Galo and the rest of Burning Rescue have become something of pseudo-celebrities. Probably, Lio thinks bitterly, because the vast majority of publications seem to have gone out of their way to write him and the rest of the Burnish out of the story about how they saved the world.

He tunes back into the Governess' speech and immediately wishes that he hadn't. _"...official pardons have already been issued to Freeze Force and the rest of the military under former-Governor Kray's command. They were, after all, just following orders."_ Miranda pretends to look sympathetic, and Lio isn't sure which pisses him off more: that she's giving sympathy to people who hunted and killed innocents under the shield of "just following orders," or that she can't even be bothered to be half-way decent about it. _"My heart goes out to all those negatively affected, of course."_ She wipes her eyes; sniffles. Her cheeks are bone dry. _"I've demoted all of the previous military officials and I will be carefully replacing all of them. Something like this can't be allowed to happen again."_

Lio bites down _hard_ on the sucker in his mouth. He feels something snap, and he's not sure if it's the candy or his teeth. He doesn't care. "Turn that shit off before I put a chair through the screen," he says lowly.

Unimpressed, Lucia rolls her eyes. "Well, now I'm actually invested. Plus, up next they have news about Heris." She sits back and pats her lap, scratching Vinny's belly idly when he nestles in between her thighs. "Aina said that she might get a lower sentence since she's being so cooperative and telling the officials all sorts of secrets."

" _Of course_ she is!" Lio throws his hands up and whirls around, storming into the kitchen. "Why _wouldn't_ she be pardoned? Everyone gets pardoned! Let's just pretend that consequences aren't real and nothing bad happened at all! Oh, that enormous ship that crashed in the middle of downtown! That's just our new _modern art piece_! Who _cares_ how many people suffered—?" The rest of his rant comes out muffled when Lio pops open a leftover container in the fridge and shoves the cold food into his mouth. His pacing, however, is clear as day as he stomps around in his boots.

With a sigh, Lucia bends down to speak quietly to Vinny as she continues to pet him. "Quite the short fuse on that guy, huh?" She mutters. Vinny's only response is to swoon. "You and Galo have _such_ questionable taste," Lucia says with a little laugh and scratches that spot Vinny likes on his back while Lio continues to rage in the room over.

It's at least a good thing that he can't set things on fire with his mind anymore.

* * *

It's quiet while they work because moving piles and piles and piles of rubble takes a bunch of energy already and no one feels up to talking. Normally, Galo is happy to keep a one-sided conversation going for hours if he has to, but being around the Parnassus makes him stiff and uncomfortable until it's out of sight again. That, and today, he's got something heavy on his mind.

They're just shoveling up rubble and dumping it into bags. Varys and Remi are using their mechs a little distance away to heft the larger chunks onto trucks, while Aina rakes bits of glass and plaster out of the grass and off of shattered sidewalks. Then Galo shoves what she rakes into bags, ties them off, and tosses them into the pile for later. There are a dozen other teams like the four of them in the immediate area, and more armed with only shovels or even their bare hands doing what they can. It's slow, repetitive, and tiring work.

Perfect for letting his thoughts wander while his body moves.

Galo shovels some rubble into a bag. He wonders if Lio is still upset after yesterday, and hopes that he isn't. Another shovelful into the bag. While on lunch break, Galo got a personal message from the new Governess wanting to hold an award ceremony for him. _Just_ him. Not Lio. Not the rest of Burning Rescue. The next shovelful goes a little more aggressively than the previous ones. He hasn't told Lio yet. Another motion with the shovel. Galo's palms are starting to blister from how hard he's holding it. He hears someone say his name and ignores it. Would Lio be angry with him? He would understand that Galo didn't _ask_ for selective treatment, right? And he doesn't want it. Galo wants to say no to the offer, but he hasn't yet because he's not sure about all of the "political nuances" that Lio was ranting about the night before. He doesn't know what he's doing. It's not obvious, isn't it? He's not making himself look like a total ass in front of Lio, is he? He's _trying_.

"Hey! Earth to Galo!" Aina yanks the shovel out of Galo's hand with a tone suggesting that she's been calling to him for a while. "What's gotten into you? You decimated the bag!"

He blinks, looking down, and realizes that she's right. The plastic bag has been ripped and Galo kept piling rubble on top of it without realizing it. He sighs, pulling a new one from the pouch on his waist. "Sorry, Aina. I'll get it."

"Yeah, damn right you will." She presses the shovel back into Galo's hand, crossing her arms over her chest. Then her expression softens with concern. "What's got you in this funk? You're usually a pretty tough guy to rattle but you've been out of sorts all day."

And he thinks that this is a stupid thing to say out loud, which is why Galo hasn't brought it to Lio yet. But Aina is his best friend, and Galo hates to keep secrets and never stops himself from speaking his mind, so he ends up considering it for only about two seconds before opening his mouth. "Do you think I would make a good congressman?"

She doesn't laugh at him, which is a good sign. Aina does, however, raise an eyebrow. Which is a less than ideal sign. "Do you even know what a congressman does?"

Galo bites his lip. "Uh… I know what they _don't_ do?" He tries. Aina raises her other eyebrow, unimpressed. He deflates. "No."

"Thought so." She takes the shovel back from him and gestures for Galo to hold open the new bag. He does so, and Aina begins shoveling his mess into it while she talks. "What brought this on, anyway? Was it Lio's rant?"

He shakes his head. "No. Well, not the first one, anyway. I think he started about seven different rants last night." Galo adjusts his hold on the bag, staring off into space as he continues. "He's just so upset. He says that there's nothing he can do until the current congressmen are up for reelection, and I thought… A year and a half is long enough to put together a campaign, right?"

"A year and five months," Aina corrects absently, tucking a strand of hair back into her ponytail before resuming her work. "Voting is in November and it's about to be June."

"Well— _whatever_. You know what I mean." Galo rolls his eyes. "Having someone in Congress who would look out for Burnish interests would help Lio out a bunch, right? And if it helps get his proposals through, then it'll help all of the former-Burnish, too."

Aina hums thoughtfully. "As far as your ideas usually go, that's not half bad, actually," she allows. "You might even be able to get elected if you played your cards right. Most people don't care about voting for Congress and you're pretty popular, so… _maybe_." She shakes her head, sending her ponytail whipping back and forth. "But you don't know the first thing about politics, Galo. And even if you did, having one congressman on his side isn't going to speed up the process any. If you wanted to help Lio, you would, oh, I don't know…" She gestures flippantly with one hand. "Run for Governor or something. Now tie off that trash bag and throw it with the others so we can keep going."

He moves to do as told… But then Galo pauses. An idea strikes him and his face lights up. _Politics… Help Lio… Governor…_ Fumbling for his phone, Galo pulls it out and checks the email that he got from the Governess. Three days until that award ceremony, huh? Maybe he _will_ accept.

Grinning, Galo shoves his phone back into his pocket and ties off the trash bag before tossing it with the others. "Aina!" He shouts, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You're a genius!"

"I am?" She asks, confused, but Galo is no longer listening. He spots something moving out of the corner of his eye and his head whips around.

Meis walks by them to drop one of his trash bags with the others, due to be collected at the end of the day and hauled off. He turns to go back to his group and nearly runs into Galo's chest, he's standing so close.

"Galo." Meis blinks and takes a step back, only the faintest ripple of surprise across his stony face. "What are you—? Ugh!" He grunts when Galo shoves the rest of his empty trash bags into Meis' arms.

"Sorry, can't explain right now. I gotta go do something," Galo says in a rush. "Do you know what time city hall closes? Can you take over here for me?"

"Uh, five o'clock, I think." Then the rest of the statement registers and Meis scowls. "What? No, I have my own workload to do today! I'm not going to—!"

"Thanks a million, Meis, you're the best!" Galo calls over his shoulder, already sprinting away. He leaves Meis and Aina to stare after him, befuddled, without a second thought.

Three days is plenty of time for him to pick up and fill out some paperwork.


	2. It's a Long Way to the Top

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys might remember [my playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZbILQYfUUYRVedCXMdCEz?si=d-A0i6G4RU6YHzfgayyx6A) for this fic. Chapter two goes from _Time_ by NF to _UWU_ by Chevy if you wanna listen while you read.

When Galo asked him to be his plus one to some award ceremony, Lio hadn't thought much before accepting. As long as it doesn't conflict with anything in his schedule, he doesn't care how he spends his free time, and doing something with Galo is always a nice little bonus.

This time, Lio _wishes_ that he'd asked more questions.

He's wearing the least ugly suit that he could find at the rental place Aina dragged him to and his borrowed dress shoes are too tight around the toes. It's fucking _freezing_ in the building, and not only does the suit offer no insulation, but Lio is the only one who seems to notice. And the worst part, _by far_ , is that he's been listening to Governess Miranda talk and talk and _talk_ for a solid hour now.

It's honestly astounding. If Lio wasn't ready to give himself a concussion as an excuse to leave the building, hospital visit be damned, then he might have even been impressed. The award ceremony, as Lio learned when he arrived, is being held in Galo's honor, and yet Governess Miranda has managed to spend nearly all her time on stage talking about herself and what her new administration is going to do to help those _poor citizens_ who the _Burnish_ displaced.

The only reason that Lio is still within five miles of the building is standing off to Miranda's left, beaming. Galo had been grinning when he picked Lio up from Meis and Gueira's place, had still been grinning when they arrived and doesn't seem likely to stop any time soon. He's started shifting impatiently and fiddling with his sleeves, but the smile is still going strong.

So Lio tolerates it, even though Miranda's voice sounds like a cat in heat scrapping its claws all over a chalkboard. Because Galo — for whatever reason — looks _enthused_ and he invited Lio to share this moment with him because it's special to him. Lio doesn't really get it, though. Galo has never been one for hogging the spotlight, but Miranda hasn't said one word about Lio or Burning Rescue. As a matter of fact, she had ignored Lio completely when she greeted Galo at the door, and Lio only has a front-row seat now because she'd been unable to change the reserved sign so last minute.

Galo catches his eyes again, as if Lio would be staring at anything in the room except for him, and gives an excited little wave without lifting his hands from his sides. It's the sixth time he's done this — Lio's been keeping count. Still, Lio returns the smile. He waves back and wonders if he's missing something. What is Galo so happy about?

"For saving Promepolis, and the world, I'd like to spend tonight celebrating the achievements of Galo Thymos! I'll be awarding him the Promepolis Medal of Peace." The Governess steps to the side and finally — _finally_ — lets Galo come up to the front. Lio is a little surprised that she didn't try to drag the microphone with her as she moves away.

When she passes Galo, Miranda takes hold of his hand and mutters something inaudible to Lio. The smile that Galo gives her in return is polite but genuine. It makes Lio have to clench his jaw.

And that's the worst part of the evening — learning that Galo has known this woman for almost as long as Kray had been in power. For _years_ , Galo had said. He considers Governess Miranda a _friend_.

At least, he did. Lio doesn't know Galo's opinion on her away from all of the cameras and politicians. He hopes that Galo's had a change of heart recently.

"Thank you, thank you!" Galo says as the polite smattering of applause dies down. "I couldn't have done it without my Burning Rescue crew. And especially not without Lio Fotia." He turns half to the side to take the medal that Governess Miranda hands off to him. Her smile looks strained, but she doesn't try to snatch the medal away. Galo takes it out of the black, velvet box and holds it up as if admiring it. "You know," he says, reminiscing, "this is the second time that I've been awarded this medal."

That gets a chuckle from the audience. Lio isn't sure why. For the first time all night, Galo's smile looks less than pristine. It's tainted at the edges, dimmed in easy-to-miss ways that hide in the crinkles of Galo's eyes and the furrow of his brow.

Lio knows what Galo is referring to — the medal that Kray gave him, for capturing Mad Burnish's leader. It's hidden at the bottom of Galo's sock drawer, next to an old picture of Galo and Kray from Galo's first day with Burning Rescue that's lying face-down. Galo doesn't know that Lio knows he kept those things. He threw the rest out, all of the painful memories crammed into a shoebox and shoved into a dumpster, but he kept those two pieces of the past. Lio doesn't say anything about it, because he knows that healing takes time.

And Galo deserves all of the time he needs. Lio will still be waiting when he's ready. Still be proud of him, because Lio knows all too well how enormous those baby steps can feel sometimes.

"You wanna know something else?" Galo asks the crowd. He sets the medal back in the box and snaps it shut right next to the microphone, the dull thud echoing through the room with finality. "It's just as meaningless now as it was the first time that I got it."

A few gasps. Murmurs of surprise. People shift uncomfortably. Miranda grabs Galo by the biceps and leans in to hiss into his ear, her expression tight and angry now that she's no longer pretending to be polite. Galo shrugs her off and ignores her.

"I didn't come here to accept any award. Especially not without Lio being recognized, too," Galo announces to the stunned crowd. "I came here to share some news." From his suit jacket, Galo unfurls an official-looking document, with the city's seal at the bottom next to several swirling signatures. Galo's grin has the intensity to rival the sun. "I'm running for Governor next year!"

Absolute dead silence. No one says a word. Not a soul even dares to _breathe_.

Which makes it audible to every person in the room when Lio, red in the face, gets to his feet and shrieks, " _What?_ "

* * *

"I'm running for Governor!" Galo announces to Burning Rescue, first thing the next morning.

The effect is immediate. Varys misses his free throw and his basketball bounces off the rim, Lucia drops the PopTart she had been eating, Remi chokes on his coffee, Aina falls off of the couch just in time to avoid taking a basketball to the face, and he can't see Ignis in the kitchen, but the sound of crashing is unmistakable.

Standing next to him, Lio huffs and smacks Galo on the arm without any heat. "I told you to break the news to them _gently_ ," he says wearily, running a hand through his hair. He looks tired. It seems like, every day, Lio looks more and more tired.

Aina is the first to recover enough to work her jaw. "You did _what_? Galo, am I hearing you correctly? Did you seriously just tell us that you're—?"

She can't finish, so Varys picks up the rest of the sentence for her. "Running for Governor? Really?"

"No way." Aina shakes her head violently, still on the floor. "Aren't you too young to run?"

Clearing his throat, Remi pipes up. "Actually, he's not." He stands, going to get a towel from the kitchen to dap at the coffee that he spit all over his uniform. When Remi comes back, he continues, "There was a concentrated effort by Kray Foresight to remove the age restrictions on all government positions about a decade ago. Galo is over eighteen as well as a citizen of the city, and that's all he needs."

"Awesome, man." Varys claps Galo on the shoulder as he passes. "Congrats. I bet you'd do a great job."

Remi's eyebrow twitches. "A great job," he repeats flatly. "Varys, he doesn't know the _first thing_ about being a public official."

Varys shrugs. He walks over to help Aina off of the floor and back onto the couch, swooping up his basketball to nestle it under one arm. "Maybe, but he has his heart in the right place. And that's more than a lot of politicians can say."

"Exactly!" Galo grins triumphantly, glad that someone else understands. "Plus, voting isn't until next November! That gives me plenty of time to learn the dos and donts and the, uh, policies and procedures…" He sees Lio glaring at him and falters. "What?"

"Go to city hall and retract your name from the ballot," Lio says, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Galo decides to do it anyway. "No."

Lio's eyebrows disappear into his hairline. " _No_?" He echoes as if he's never heard that word in his life. And he probably hasn't — at least, not in response to his " _don't fuck with me, I'm the boss"_ voice. Then his anger returns full force and he scowls. "Galo, you can't be the fucking Governor! Popularity isn't enough to get you those votes and, even if they were, those politicians will eat you alive!"

"I know that!" Galo defends. From the pouch on his hip, he pulls a crumpled flyer and shows it to Lio. It's a picture of him posing with his matoi and, at the bottom, the word " _VOTE"_ is printed in big, bold font. "I made these flyers. I was gonna hand them out at places where I volunteer. If the organizers don't mind, I mean. I know campaigning is a big part of getting voted in, so..." Galo gestures widely, "I figure that I can multi-task and do it while I'm helping people! What do you think? Looks good, right?"

He doesn't get an answer. Instead, Lio sets the flyer aside and interlocks his hands together, pressing his two pointer fingers to his lips like he's praying for patience. Then Lio says, carefully, "You like to help people, Galo, but you are not a politician."

"And why can't I be?" Galo demands. "I can shovel rubble, but anyone can do that! If I was the Governor, I'd be able to help so many more people. Maybe in less direct ways, sure, but I'd get the final say on all of the important decisions. No laws get passed without my approval!" He boasts. "Don't you want that?"

Lio grits his teeth. "You can't do a normal job, volunteer during every second of your downtime, _and_ fix the corrupt government in this city all on your own!"

"Well, neither can you," Galo shoots back, smug even as he says it because—

Because he can see the moment when Lio reaches the same conclusion. Lio blinks and snaps his mouth shut with an audible click. "Shit," he whispers, fervently.

Because Galo is absolutely right, and he knows it.

" _Well_?" Galo asks, sing-song. He knows that Lio will come around, eventually. That doesn't mean he's above being smug about it.

"I— I'm not—" Lio stutters, his face turning redder every second that he can't get his tongue to work. "I don't have a full-time job!" He shouts finally, incensed.

Ignis chooses that moment to leave the kitchen, having apparently finished cleaning up whatever it was he dropped. "You could change that if you want," he offers, unphased by the proceedings.

"Not now!" Lio snaps. He grabs Galo by the front of his shirt and yanks him down to eye-level, glaring as though he can still set fires with his mind. "You're not a politician, Galo," he says lowly. "You're too good to play their games, and it'll cost you that election."

"Maybe." Galo shrugs, unbothered. He doesn't break eye-contact. "But I have a chance of making a change if I run. If I drop out, I know I'll lose."

The look on Lio's face could send a lesser man running for the hills. Galo stays right where he is and takes it, refusing to back down. He's _mostly_ sure that Lio won't kill him, but regardless, this is just a risk that Galo has to take. He knows that he can handle this, even if Lio hasn't reached the same conclusion yet.

Finally, Lio lets go and steps back. He takes a deep breath. Covers his face with his hands. Muffled, he croaks, "I need some air." Then he turns and walks out of the building.

When Lio exits, he leaves a heavy silence in his wake. Aina is the one to break it. "Trouble in paradise?" She asks sympathetically.

Galo waves her off, pretending to be unbothered. He wants to chase after Lio and keep talking until they're on the same page and Lio isn't angry anymore, but he respects that Lio wants to be alone. This is probably a lot for him. "Eh, he'll come around. Lucia!" He shouts, bounding over to her. "You wanna come hand out flyers with me?"

Lucia, who had quickly grown bored of the argument and turned back to her computer, immediately stops what she's doing and whirls around to face Galo with a gleeful grin. "You bet your tight ass I do!" She says, pumping her fist. When she notices the weird stares that she's getting from her co-workers, Lucia shrugs. "What? This campaign thing is going to be a _disaster_. You're damn right I wanna be there to see it!"

"That…" Ignis pushes his sunglasses up and pinches the bridge of his nose. "That's not the part that we were questioning."

* * *

It's another pretentious gathering of rich people, although this time, Lio had the foresight to ask what the event was celebrating before agreeing to be Galo's plus one. He's still a little annoyed, but that's more out of stubbornness than anything Galo actually did.

Lio hates to admit it, but he's beginning to think that maybe Galo running for Governor isn't a completely terrible idea. At the very least, he can't be any worse than their current Governess. And having someone with Burnish interests in mind in power would be nice. Lio's been thinking about getting the names of those who didn't survive the Parnassus carved into a memorial. But he knows that with the current people in power, his proposal will never be accepted.

He's rented a simple black tux from the only suit rental place in town that would let Lio through the doors. If black tie events are going to be common-place, Lio supposes that he might as well try and scrounge together the money to buy it outright. Maybe get it fitted, too. At least Galo looks nice in his suit. It's not the sort of thing that would be worn at a wedding, black and midnight blue, but Lio admires the way that it hugs Galo's chest and waist anyway.

And then he promptly stops thinking about Galo in a wedding setting, because he doesn't think that he can handle that.

They're taking a break from socializing by sipping on martinis next to one of the many decorative and functionless pillars dotting the edges of the ballroom. Galo keeps making a face every time he tastes his drink, but he hasn't given up on it yet. Lio drinks his more boldly. It burns on the way down, and if he drinks enough of it fast enough, then the warmth that curls in his chest is almost familiar.

"I think you would have more luck socializing if you bought someone else to be your plus one," Lio says idly. "Maybe Aina next time?" She would be a lot better at this, Lio thinks only somewhat bitterly. Aina wouldn't send people speed-walking to the other side of the ballroom. She would be able to fake a smile and a laugh. She would be perfectly polite and charming, and she would look right at home with a ball gown and her arm looped with Galo's.

Lio thinks of weddings again and the way that his chest burns has nothing to do with the martini.

"No way," Galo is saying almost immediately, shaking his head. "I'm doing this for you, Lio. I'm not gonna turn my back on you when a huge part of my platform is helping out the Burnish. _And_ ," he adds, "Aina hates formal wear."

Some of the tension lessens with that last remark. Lio smiles faintly. "Really? All of that pink all over her locker, I thought that makeup and dresses would be right up her alley." Actually, he had been sort of hoping for it. It's been too long since Lio had access to a wide variety of makeup and he was thinking about asking her for brand recommendations.

"Aina likes pink, but she doesn't like _restrictive clothing_." Galo tugs on his shirt collar and makes a face. Lio hides a smile with the rim of his glass. That must be why they're such good friends — they both hate shirts. "She wears makeup, though. Just not a lot of it. Not unless it's a special occasion."

Good to know. Lio chooses not to respond and they lapse into a comfortable silence as the party continues around them. When he hits the bottom of his glass, Lio frowns. "I don't see why rich people need to have a gala just to donate some money. You would think that if they really cared about the city's clean-up efforts, they would be able to donate money without being prompted." He gestures around them. "Or bribed with big, marble rooms and pointless social expectations."

Galo hums noncommittally. He gags on a sip of his martini and, scowling at it, shifts a little to pour the rest of his drink into the plant next to them. Lio is pretty sure that it's fake, but he doesn't say anything. "I don't know. Maybe you could try asking? That might make a good conversation starter," Galo suggests, being entirely serious.

Lio huffs on a little laugh and shakes his head. "Much as I want to, I think we're here trying to get you sponsors, not offend every person in attendance at once." Not that they're having much luck with that goal, anyway. What can he say? Lio isn't much of a people person.

Their conversation is put on pause when a distinctly gaudy white ball gown starts to swish its way over to them. Lio has enough time to rearrange his facial features into something resembling politeness, but he doesn't bother. Governess Miranda approaches them smiling like her face is glued that way and Lio glares openly. Unfortunately, it doesn't deter her.

"Hi, Yvette," Galo says politely when she's close enough. The fact that the two of them were once on a first-name basis makes Lio's blood boil, and he fantasizes about a cell right next to Kray's that's waiting to be filled.

"Good evening, gentlemen," she greets, addressing them both without ever once glancing at Lio. "I was so surprised to see you two in attendance."

"Why?" Lio asks through grit teeth. Miranda looks at him like something rather unpleasant baking on a hot sidewalk, but she's _looking at him_ and Lio will take it. "Galo is running for Governor, as I'm sure you're aware. Why _wouldn't_ he be invited? He _loves_ giving back to his community."

Miranda fakes a look of surprise. "Oh, of course. And just so you know, Galo, I think it's very sweet of you," she cooes. "Wanting to follow in Kray's footsteps like that… I know that he was like a father to you for many years."

Galo's smile slips. "What?" He asks like he can't believe what she's saying. Lio can, though. It's through sheer force of will that he resists the urge to claw her eyes out for that.

"I know it's been hard, dear. Everyone has different ways that they cope." Miranda sighs forlornly. "I was horrified when Kray revealed that he was Burnish all along. I spent years working with him, I would even say that we were friends… And to learn that I didn't really know him at all was so difficult to accept." She sniffles and wipes under her eyes. There is, of course, nothing there to brush away. "So I think it's nice that you're trying something like this. In a lot of ways, it's like you haven't changed from that child I met so many years ago. Your "campaign" is very _cute_ , Galo. You have my full support."

Since he lost the promare, Lio has started keeping a knife in his boot for self-defense purposes. They're standing so close, it would be easy to just bend down, lean forward with his knife in hand, and…

Lio forces a smile and it _hurts_. "That's appreciated, Yvette." The sound of her name on his lips makes her face scrunch up, which makes the taste of it — like a slur in his mouth — completely worth it. "In a lot of ways, you remind me of Kray. Except I think that he wore white better," he says, indicating her ugly dress. "You would look far better in _orange_." He says nothing else, he just takes Galo's hand and drags him away. The drip that Lio has on his empty glass is tight enough that he's worried about shattering it. Lio wishes furiously that this damn place had something stronger.

When they're far enough not to be overheard, Galo stops walking. He squeezes Lio's hand, looking lost. "I…" His brow furrows thoughtfully. "Lio, do you think that I'm doing this because of Kray? Is that why you didn't want me to run?"

Something in Lio's chest breaks and he's glad that he's not standing near Miranda anymore. The knife strapped to his leg beneath his dress pants is starting to feel _far_ too tempting. "Of course not," he soothes. "She was just trying to get under your skin, Galo. And now that I've had some time to think about it, I think that you running for governor is a great idea."

There's a glimmer of hopefulness in Galo's eyes and his smile is hesitant. "Really?"

Good God, this man is going to be the death of him. "Really." Lio gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. He takes both of their empty glasses and drops them into the nearest fake potted plant. "We have a year and four months to get you elected, Galo. And _we_ ," Lio says, expression darkening, "are going to _destroy_ that she-beast."

* * *

As June fades into July, and July into August, and August to September, Galo finds himself getting busier and busier. He doesn't mean to, it's just that there's a lot of work to be done. He finds himself with a small but vocal group of supporters for his campaign, which is a relief, but also a lot more work. Because with supporters comes donations, which Galo has to pay taxes on and then use so that people don't feel like they're wasting their money. He donates a lot of it but also organizes get-togethers to rally his backers and hopefully make new ones. And that generates more support, which generates more money, which Galo _hopes_ he is using correctly but he struggles under the mounting pressure not to let anyone down.

At least Ignis helps him with the taxes part. And Remi has been helping teach Galo about government so he's not going in blindly on the "slim chance," as Remi puts it, that he actually gets elected. And Aina keeps an eye on the social scene for him to help keep Galo updated about any upcoming events or big developments. And Lucia is great company on late nights, and she helps Galo out when the numbers start to swim and he needs an hour or two to take a power nap. And Varys makes sure to drag him out to the gym at least twice a week so that Galo can unwind and get the knots out of his back.

He doesn't see much of Lio at all. They're both very busy with their own things, he supposes. Sometimes, Lio will crash at Galo's apartment, but mostly he stays at Gueira and Meis' place or passes out on the Burning Rescue couch. Galo tries not to take it personally. As much as he likes seeing Lio, he knows that they both have more pressing matters to attend to.

With as little as he sees Lio, Galo sees Gueira and Meis even less. So it's a bit of a surprise for him when, during his lunch break, Gueira plops down into the seat next to him at Burning Rescue's dining table. The movement jostles Galo's arm as he has a forkful of spaghetti half-way to his mouth, and he jerks to the side just in time for it to splatter to the floor instead of all over his paperwork.

"Gueira?" Galo blinks at him, trying to make sure that he's not hallucinating. Again. When Gueira's only response is to grin, Galo returns the smile and holds out his fist for a bump. "Hey, man. Long time, no see. What've you been up to?"

While Galo goes to get a napkin to clean up his mess, Gueira shrugs. "Oh, you know. Just been helping the boss out with some of his rebuilding efforts. We found a bunch of old warehouses that we touched up and they make pretty good shelter for the rest of the people without homes right now. There was an incident with some sawdust, so Boss decided to swing by here and hit the shower real quick. I figured that I could pop in and say hi to my favorite Governor-to-be."

Galo smiles warmly. It doesn't matter how much he gets it: the support from his friends is always touching. "I was wondering, how come you and Meis have an apartment? I thought you'd want to stay with the others."

Gueira grimaces and Galo thinks that maybe he said something wrong. "Yeah, well…" A sigh. Galo tosses the food from the floor into the trash and gets another napkin to wipe up the rest of the splattered sauce. "The city offered the apartment to the boss, but he refused to take it. Probably because it was clearly a bribe and a thinly-veiled attempt to keep tabs on him. We talked him into it, but he basically just turned around and gave it to us. So Meis and I keep it warm for him because, you know…" Gueira shrugs. "That idiot would sleep on the streets if we didn't have a bed to manhandle him into."

Yeah. That sounds about right. Galo can't argue with that. He finishes cleaning and reclaims his seat. "I worry about Lio, you know." He props his chin on his fist glumly. "He's such a work-a-holic. I can't remember the last time he took a day off. I get what he's trying to do, but it can't always be about work, right?"

"You looked in the mirror recently?" Gueira admonishes him. "You look like you haven't changed your clothes in days, your hair is sagging, and those eye bags are starting to look like fucking tattoos. And didn't you still have a big fire to put out yesterday?" He shakes his head. "I swear, both of you are hopeless. Seriously, you're supposed to be on lunch break right now and you're sitting here alternating between…" He tilts his head to squint at the papers spread out in front of Galo, "Taxes and history homework? Jesus." He sits back with a huff. "Even the nerdiest people in the world wouldn't find _that_ fun."

There's really no argument that Galo can make, so he doesn't try. He gives a little laugh. "Yeah, well… Remi says that I need to understand history to be really good as a Governor. And taxes are just required by law." He closes the history book and pushes it aside. It's clear that he won't be making much progress with it during lunch anymore. And his head had started to hurt ten minutes ago. "So what do you think I should do?"

Gueira shrugs one shoulder. "Fuck someone?" He suggests. Galo makes a face and lets Gueira get in a laugh at his expense, then his serious tone returns. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but this is getting ridiculous. Did you really save the world just to work yourself into exhaustion? If _I_ saved the world, I'd be out there enjoying it." He gestures pointedly. "Why don't you take a day off? Just one. And drag the boss out with you, while you're at it. He seems to think he's immune to stress and it's getting _really_ hard to watch."

It doesn't take long for Galo to think about it. Spending a whole evening with Lio sounds like a great way to spend the day off.

"You're right!" Galo shouts as he jumps to his feet. "I'm gonna go talk to Lio about it right now. Thanks, Gueira!" He waves as he leaves the room, papers stirring in his wake and scattering to the floor, forgotten.

Chuckling, Gueira grabs the container of spaghetti and slides it over to his side of the table. He purposefully doesn't chase Galo down and remind him that Lio is in the shower. "Idiots," he snickers, and shoves a bunch of lukewarm pasta into his mouth.

* * *

After being accosted in the shower while trying to get sawdust out of his ears, Lio was in no mood to take the rest of the day off and let Galo drag him all over town.

And he's still not in the mood for it as he walks down Promepolis' streets with Galo, but he hadn't been able to say no to that stupid puppy-dog face. Neither of them is talking, but it's not an awkward silence. Their arms bump occasionally as they walk and it's nice.

"Galo," Lio sighs after about ten minutes of passing nothing but closed shops. In downtown in the middle of the afternoon on a Friday. Sure. "I don't think we're going to find anyone who will let me into their store." And even if they did, the money that Ignis slips him every pay period isn't as much as a proper paycheck and Lio doesn't have a lot to spare. He's not going to let Galo pay for a bunch of shit, though.

Bringing attention to the obvious makes Galo's smile slip, but he pulls it back together quickly. "No problem!" He insists, looping their fingers together in a way that makes Lio's heart do flips. "We can window shop. I'm between paychecks, anyway."

Lio knows that he's not, but he doesn't call Galo out on it. He smiles instead. "Yeah, alright," he agrees. He already let Galo drag him away from his community service — he might as well try to have a good time. It'll mean the world to Galo if nothing else.

It would have been nice to go somewhere private, like that frozen lake, but they've already tried. The lake is being swarmed with researchers and construction teams trying to dig out Dr. Prometh's lab. At least for the next few months, they'll have to make do without it.

So they window shop. They pass an electronic store with all the latest technology and linger outside while Galo explains the internet and texting. If Lio was a little less paranoid, he might have been interested in getting a phone. He knows that Gueira and Meis both have one, just cheap little things that are only good for calling each other, but the idea doesn't appeal to Lio. Who knows how easy those things are to track?

There's a store filled with cottage-themed decorations that Lio has to admit are adorable, even if it's not his style. They find one that's more modern down the street, with black velvet curtains that Lio can't stop drooling over. He argues with Galo over the best way to decorate and neither of them gets any ground. It's weirdly personal, talking about how they'd decorate an apartment while still clutching each other's hands. Lio can imagine what a disaster an apartment they shared would be; sleek granite countertops next to a rustic, wooden table and mismatched rings on their fingers.

Galo must sense Lio's mood worsening because he spots a toy store and drags Lio over to start talking animatedly about a story from when he was little, how he tried to see how many marbles he could fit up his nose. The answer is seven, Galo says proudly, although the doctor was less than impressed.

"Hungry?" Galo asks after they've been window-shopping and walking for an hour or two.

Lio isn't, but he knows that Galo must be by now, so he nods. "I can wait down the block while you order something," he offers, pointing in the opposite direction from the way Galo is walking.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Galo waves off what Lio thought was a very reasonable suggestion and tugs on their entwined hands. Lio follows, unconvinced. "I know a place that'll be happy to serve you. They have the best pizza in the city."

As skeptical as he is, Lio isn't going to be the one to burst Galo's bubble. He'll just go into damage control mode whenever this inevitably backfires.

The place that Galo takes him to is a small, quaint pizza parlor. Despite the fact that it's located in a prime position downtown and it's nearing the end of the lunch rush, there's not a soul inside. It's clearly open, though. Even as Lio and Galo approach, the sign doesn't suddenly flip to closed and the lights don't go off.

The bell inside jingles when Galo pushes open the door for him, and Lio steps inside to the pleasant aroma of fresh bread and recently-baked ingredients. His chest squeezes with sympathy. There are a few pizzas sitting in a display rack near the register, going cold. The only person behind the counter is an elderly man kneading dough with a forlorn expression.

"Pops!" Galo shouts in greeting as he strides over to the counter. "How are you doing?"

Stretching out the dough, the store owner — Pops, apparently — turns to regard Galo with a genuine smile. "Well, if it isn't my favorite customer." He chuckles. "You and your crew were all in here just the other day, Galo. What brings you back so soon?"

"I wanted to introduce a friend to your pizza. And we were in the area anyway, so I figured why not?" Galo slings an arm over Lio's shoulder, pulling him close and in full view of Pops. "This is Lio Fotia! You've seen him on the news, right?"

Lio offers a polite smile and a wave, but he's not stupid. He knows what's coming. He waits for Pops to kick them both out, to yell at Lio, to demand answers for all the horrible things that Burnish have done.

It never comes.

Pops looks stunned for a moment, then sets his dough down on the counter and wipes his hands off on a towel. "Lio Fotia." He gives Lio an appraising look. "I always wanted to say… Thank you."

There's a pause. Lio struggles to process. Fails. Tries again. In the end, the best he can do is utter, "For what?"

He's never seen this man before in his life. And even if he had, Lio's not sure that he would have done anything worth being thanked for. Unless this man is a former-Burnish as well, although it seems unlikely that he would own a long-established shop in the city if he was.

"For all the work you've done for the Burnish." Pops comes around the counter and that sad look is back in his eyes. "It's always been damn-near impossible to find someone willing to say anything kind about the Burnish. But even though others saw you as a terrorist, you gave those people hope. You never stopped trying to give them better lives, even when it seemed impossible. You've always been a beacon of hope. And for that… Thank you." He hugs Lio then, holds him tight while he clearly bites down tears.

Although still confused, Lio returns the hug. He doesn't know this man's story, but he doesn't need to in order to be compassionate. And when Galo joins in the hug, it certainly becomes cozier.

After that incident, Pops tries to give them their pizzas on the house. Galo and Lio both adamantly refuse until he relents. Then they sit in the big booth in the corner and order four pizzas. Lio knows that he'll only eat about a quarter of one, but Galo surprises him by swallowing the rest of that pizza, along with two others. The fourth one, he says, is "a snack for later." When they pay, their tip is the size of the bill.

"Just as good as always, Pops," Galo praises as he slides the money across the counter.

Pops smiles, sort of. It's not a happy expression. "Thank you. I've done my best to keep the recipe the same since…" He gestures at the brick oven firing away merrily behind him and his expression crumblers entirely. "It's just been hard," Pops finishes, muttering.

They leave after that, which Lio supposes is a good thing. Any longer, and he'd be tempted to upend his bank account into Pops' hands. As soon as the door closes behind them, Lio tugs on Galo's sleeve to get his attention. "What was that about?" He asks.

Galo shifts his to-go box in his hands so that he's holding it under one arm. "Want to come back to my apartment with me? I should get this in the fridge so it doesn't go bad."

"Sure." Lio follows him, back down the slowly-becoming-familiar path to Galo's apartment. "Are you going to tell me what happened in there?"

He's silent for a moment. "It's not really my story to tell…" Galo tries. It only takes one look at Lio's face to know that that excuse isn't going to fly. He sighs. "Alright, fine. Pops had an employee before who was secretly Burnish. The day of my award ceremony, me and the team came here for pizza to celebrate. Freeze Force showed up and arrested the guy. They called him a terrorist, even though he hadn't done anything. Pops got arrested too for trying to protect him." The look on Galo's face tells Lio all he needs to know about how this story ends. He listens anyway. "I asked later. The employee's name was Yu. I saw him — he didn't make it." Galo is quiet for a minute out of respect before he continues. "Pops got let out of jail two months ago. But he has a lot of trouble getting his customer base back when a lot of them are still anti-Burnish. So Burning Rescue makes sure to order from here once a week. I know he can't stay afloat with just a few customers, but… every little bit helps, right?"

Lio reaches down, entwining his fingers with Galo's free hand. "Right," he agrees. "That's nice of you." He can tell by the surrounding buildings that they're getting close to Galo's apartment. Lio wishes that they weren't. He doesn't want their time together to end.

"It's the least we can do." Galo must reach the same conclusion because his steps falter. "Hey, uh, do you maybe want to stay the night? We can make dinner, watch a movie…" He trails off. "I know you don't have any clothes with you, but you can borrow one of my shirts. And I'm pretty sure that I have a pair of old sweatpants that would fit you if you tied the draw-string together."

He pretends to think about it while they walk. Lio knew his answer as soon as Galo mentioned wearing one of his shirts, but he waits until they've started climbing the steps to Galo's front door to say, "Sure. I don't have any other plans, so I can spend the night."

"Awesome!" Galo doesn't even try to contain his excitement. He presses the pizza box into Lio's hands and pulls out his keyring to start flipping for his apartment key. "What should we make for dinner? What's your favorite meat? Do you like sushi? Oh, we could try homemade pizza!"

Lio laughs. Not a chuckle or a huff, but a genuine laugh that takes up his whole face. The look on Galo's face is awed, and it does horrible things to Lio's heart. He feels heat rise up his neck and to the tips of his ears. "Maybe we can do pizza some other time?" He suggests, shaking the pizza box pointedly.

"I'm not going to say no to another dinner night with you," Galo says with a grin. He unlocks the door and ushers Lio inside. "We've got a few hours to figure out dinner, anyway."

They're so entranced with each other that neither of them even notices the flash of a camera just before the apartment door closes behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The pizza guy who gets arrested is never given a name, so I just named him after his voice actor: Yu Okano.


	3. Everybody Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I noticed [my playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZbILQYfUUYRVedCXMdCEz?si=d-A0i6G4RU6YHzfgayyx6A) for this fic has some followers, which means that at least some of y'all are using it. Chapter three goes from _Everybody Talks_ by Neon Trees to _I've Been Waiting_ by Lil Peep and ILoveMakonnen, featuring Fall Out Boy.

"Franklin Roosevelt made himself more accessible to the press than any other modern president. On average, he held eighty-three press conferences annually." Remi pauses to make sure that Galo is still listening. He is, but it's _difficult_. "In comparison, George W. Bush was the least accessible to the press. During his first term he held only sixteen press conferences — an average of four per year. Now…" Setting the history textbook down on the dining table, Remi adjusts his glasses and looks at Galo patiently, "... How did those two vastly different approaches to communication affect their campaign reputations?"

Galo frowns down at the notes he's taken. Before dropping out of college and joining Burning Rescue, Remi had bounced between political science and a law degree. So Galo knows that Remi knows what he's talking about and that it's important for him to understand history and have a basic grasp of the law and government structure, but—

But there's just so much and it's all so _boring_. Galo's a bit of a history buff, but matoi is cool. This is not.

He takes a deep breath. For Lio. He can learn this stuff, _for Lio_. And then when Galo is done, he can get back to campaigning. Today once he's off work, Galo's scheduled to give a speech as they unveil a new apartment complex for displaced individuals. That will be so much more fun than _this_.

He tries _really hard_ to remember what Remi has already told him about these two presidents.

"FDR spoke a lot more to the press and his voters," Galo begins slowly. Which Bush are they talking about, again? And why does George have to be such a common, unremarkable name? "Because he built up a personal connection with them, FDR was really popular. Enough that he got elected four times in a row. George Bush wasn't all that memorable one way or the other." Galo keeps his face blank. He's guessing, partly, but he's _mostly_ sure that he's right. The odds have to be at least fifty-fifty. _Please_ let him be correct.

He feels a huge weight lift off of his chest when Remi smiles over the top of his glasses. "That's right. Good job, Galo." Remi tosses him a W&W as a reward and Galo catches it in his mouth instinctively. "Now, in more recent history, who was the president that, during the First Great World Blaze, said—"

" _Galo_!" Aina bursts into the kitchen panting like she's run directly to Burning Rescue HQ straight from her apartment downtown. It wouldn't be the first time that she's forgotten her motorcycle in her haste. She stalks over to Galo with a glare on her face that genuinely leaves him unnerved and smacks a crumbled magazine down on the table in front of him. "What. Is. This?" She asks slowly and carefully.

Fuck. Did he do something stupid that made the front page again? Galo can't _remember_ anything like that. He's been on his best behavior in public recently. He tries to subtly crane his neck to see what Aina is so upset about, but her hand is covering the image. "Uh… Look, whatever it is, I swear that Lucia dared me. And Varys was watching the whole time to make sure that we didn't break any public indecency laws again, so I don't—"

"No, not any of that!" Aina waves him off and smoothes out the magazine before holding it up, shoving it into Galo's face so close that he goes cross-eyed trying to see it. "Galo, what is _this_? This is a really bad look for you! How could you fuck up like this?"

With a huff of impatience, Galo snatches the magazine from Aina and takes a good look at the cover. And he immediately wishes that he hadn't.

Because on the cover is himself and Lio, unmistakable and clear as day. They're entering Galo's apartment together, wearing the clothes from the other night, and the photographer caught an in-between frame where it looks like Galo has placed a hand on Lio's waist instead of just trying to gesture him inside. The headline isn't much better: _Thymos' Dirty Little Secret!_ and other phrases like, _Promepolis' darling dating a_ _ **terrorist**_ _?_ There's a blurb promising more details inside and, as if possessed, Galo flips to page fifty-seven as told and winces.

It's like someone stalked and recorded their entire day out together. There's Galo dragging Lio out of the Burning Rescue building by the hand, them window shopping together, them eating, even the moment outside of Galo's apartment where Lio had graced him with a small but genuine laugh. Galo's heart squeezes, seeing Lio's grin plastered all over the magazine like it's something to be ashamed of. That was supposed to be _their_ moment, something happy just for the two of them, not an excuse to vilify Lio some more. As if his name hasn't been dragged through the dirt nonstop since he first announced it in the face of his arrest.

_"It's Lio. Lio Fotia."_ He'd said, a terrorist then, but he's _still_ Lio Fotia now, just a man trying to do his best for his community, and Galo just can't understand how someone can look at these photos and see something shameful.

"Galo." Remi's voice gets his attention and Galo startles, tearing his gaze away from the magazine to look at Remi with surprise. His expression is sympathetic, and Aina seems to have noticeably calmed, too. "Galo, are you alright? You look like you're going to cry."

Cry? No. Hit something? A definite possibility. Galo shakes his head and looks away. "I'm fine," he says, clipped. "I just… What do I do about this?"

"I'd start by telling Lio." Aina reaches over and takes the magazine from his grip gently. Galo lets her. "This effects both of you, and I'm not just talking about your reputations. You need to see how he wants to clear this up."

Nodding, Galo stands up. "You're right," he agrees. "I just hope Lio isn't too angry. This is _really_ bad."

* * *

"This is _fantastic_." Lio flips through the magazine hungrily, drinking in all of the slanderous lies about their relationship as if it's the finest ambrosia, a huge grin on his face.

" _Fantastic_?" In comparison, Galo looks like he's about to have a stroke. "Lio, are you reading the same article that I did? They published a story saying that we're dating!"

"I know." Closing the magazine, Lio sets it down on the table in front of them next to his half-eaten meal. He had been a little taken aback when Galo just about beat down Gueira and Meis' apartment door to speak to him while he was eating dinner and trying to work, but the distraction is nice. His paperwork had been getting out of focus, anyway. "This really is an ingenious idea. I don't know why I didn't think of it myself," Lio says, impressed.

(Probably because when Lio thinks about dating Galo, he isn't thinking about faking it or doing it to please the press.)

"Lio," Galo says, sounding exhausted. Even when he's weary, hearing his name on those lips makes something content buzz in Lio's chest. "They're saying _awful_ things about this. About both of us, but mostly you."

They're saying that Galo, one of Kray Foresight's most vocal supporters, was seduced into turning against the man. That it's all some elaborate cover-up that Lio coerced Galo into going along with. That their "relationship" is a mockery to all of the people that could have died, as well as the ones that did. And that's just the first page.

"Yes, I'm aware. I read the article." Lio stands up, pacing the short length of the dining room before turning to Galo with excitement. "Obviously, this was published to make you look bad and hurt your chances of winning the election. But instead, we're going to turn it into a positive for your campaign and my public approval rating. Galo Thymos." Lio sets his hands on Galo's broad shoulders, wishing that he could say this under different circumstances. "I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend," Lio says. What he doesn't say is, _'Without the pretending.'_

" _What_?" Galo jumps to his feet, and instead of loudly proclaiming that they don't need to fake it because he's already madly in love with Lio, he says, "Why do you want to go along with a lie? Especially one that's already being used against us!"

Grabbing the magazine, Lio rolls it up and bops Galo on the nose with it. "Stop shouting and listen," he scolds like he's talking to a rambunctious puppy. "We can turn this around. _I_ can use it to make it look like I've completely reformed! I'm not a terrorist anymore, and if you managed to forgive my actions enough to date me, then I can't be that bad. Not to mention, by dating a reformed criminal, you make yourself look kind and forgiving. Oh, we'll give them a romance alright." Lio twists the magazine violently with both hands, threatening to tear it. "We'll give them the most disgustingly perfect, sickeningly in love, vomit-inducing storybook romance that anyone has ever seen," he mutters, voice low and dangerous.

Galo, to his credit, only looks a little bit intimidated. "I still don't think it's a good idea," he replies at last. "I'd just be using you, like— like arm candy, or a trophy boyfriend or something. I don't want to do that."

Against his wishes, Lio's expression softens. "Oh, Galo…" He quickly pulls himself together again. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm going to be using you, too."

"Hey!"

"Stop being so _honest_!" Lio wacks him again with the magazine, in the bicep this time, and then sends it flying when he flings his hands out wide. "Galo, you can use this to make yourself look good. _Really good._ And us having a relationship would be great for improving the tensions that still exist between Burnish and non. You're the city's darling little poster child. If you can forgive the Burnish, even the worst of the worst, then so can they."

Pouting, Galo looks away. "... I don't think you're the worst," he says quietly, and he really has no right being as endearing as he is.

"I know." Lio sets a hand on Galo's arm consolingly, trying to resist the urge to hug him. "But they don't know that. And if you want to get through to the public, you need to speak their language."

He waits patiently while Galo considers it. It takes about a solid minute of thought, then Galo sighs _hard_. "Alright. Fine, okay, so— Let's say we do this. We fake being in a relationship." He doesn't look very happy with the idea. Lio tries (and fails) not to take it personally. "How much do you want to commit to it?"

* * *

"I think I speak for all citizens of Promepolis when I say that this comes as quite the surprise," the woman interviewing them says through a pained smile. "You've only known each other for a few months. And you're so different… How did this relationship come to be?" She asks. Galo can't remember her name at the moment — Linda or Barbara or Claressa, maybe?

She's had a talk show for almost as long as Galo has been alive, and her face is familiar to him only because it's been plastered on TV screens and billboards for nearly two decades. But he's never watched her show and now Galo regrets it because he's supposed to be the center of attention and he can't focus on anything outside of all the places that Lio is touching him.

Yeah. It's a lot more distracting than Galo thought it would be. When Lio said that he wanted to commit to their ruse "absolutely and without any restrictions," Galo hadn't imagined that it meant he would end up on a talk show being broadcast to the entire city with Lio half-in-his-lap and clinging to Galo's arm like he'll die if they put another inch of space between their bodies.

Since Galo can't remember the question they were asked, let alone answer it, Lio takes over. He leans his head on Galo's shoulder, head turned so that his lips are brushing Galo's skin every time his mouth moves. It _burns_. It's also very distracting.

"Honestly, I never put that much thought into it," Lio says in a smooth voice that lacks all of his usual heat and stubbornness. He's been sighing and tittering and fawning over Galo all night. It's nothing like how Lio actually behaves and Galo hates it just as much as he likes the attention. He hates the weird contradiction, too. "After everything we've been through together, dating someone else seemed far stranger. Galo has seen me at my lowest point," Lio explains, voice breaking around fake tears, "and he saved my life, you know. I don't think whether I adored him was ever a question, it was just a matter of when I was going to do something about it. And thankfully, he felt the same." He wipes at his eyes. "I'm so lucky that Galo was able to forgive the mistakes I made in the past. I really don't deserve him."

' _Bullshit,'_ Galo wants to say, but they're on camera so he doesn't. His expression is twisting despite his best attempts, so he hides it by pressing his face against the side of Lio's head. Hopefully, to the studio audience, it looks like Galo is giving him a kiss. Lio certainly acts like that's what's happening, cooing and leaning into the touch. Lio's smile is threatening to split his face in half, and Galo can _feel_ how painfully fake it is. He wants to grab Lio by the shoulders and shake him until he gives Galo a real one. Or a half-laugh, half-snort instead of his stupid girlish giggles. Lio's just playing it up for the cameras, of course. Letting Galo be the hero, be the big strong man that the city wants to see him as.

But it's terrible because now Lio looks like a ditzy idiot. It's terrible because Lio could kick his ass in five seconds flat without breaking a sweat, their difference in size be damned. It's terrible because Galo can't stop thinking about how Lio would be acting if they were in a _real_ relationship—

And it's not a real relationship. It's not real, so Galo shouldn't enjoy Lio's attention so much. He shouldn't be fantasizing when Lio is putting his all into this ruse, to help Galo and to help his people. Galo is just angry and upset and confused, and none of that is good when he needs to be putting on a show.

So Galo swallows his emotions no matter how much it pains him and turns his head to smile at the women asking them questions. She seems to have relaxed, which is good. Hopefully, everyone else watching is buying this, too.

"Don't talk down about yourself like that, Firebug," Galo admonishes, teasing. The nickname slips out without realizing and there's a flicker of surprise on Lio's face. Then a subtle pinch to his bicep that tells Galo he's going to be getting an earful later for saying that in front of the entire population of Promepolis. "Everyone makes mistakes — _not_ forgiving you was out of the question."

He cups Lio's chin and presses their foreheads together, noses bumping and lips an inch apart in a parody of a lovers' embrace. Except now that he doesn't have to look at the camera, Lio rolls his eyes. Galo relaxes a little and his smile turns genuine. He knows that the lights and the attention and the prying questions bother Lio, and keeping up this charade with all of that stress taken into account can't be easy, so it's nice to know that Lio isn't upset.

Galo continues, "You're my entire world. You're the moon and the sun. I don't know what I'd do without you in my life." He reaches up and tucks a strand of Lio's hair behind his ear. Misses the flash of longing in Lio's eyes. "I've never been this happy before. You're _incredible_."

The interview continues in a similar vein for what feels like an hour but is, in reality, only about ten minutes. By the time Galo stumbles off stage and into the dressing room that's been reserved for them, he feels uncomfortably hot and anxious.

The door shuts behind him as Lio follows Galo in, then there's the click of a lock to make sure that they won't be interrupted. "What was that about?" Lio asks. Not unkindly — his tone is concerned as he walks over to the vanity mirror to start scrubbing off the stage makeup. "You were way too stiff out there, Galo."

_Shit._ "You can see that?" Galo jumps back, looking down. He'd worn baggy pants today _specifically_ with that in mind, so— He pauses and glances up. Lio is staring at him through the mirror, a makeup wipe poised mid-motion at his cheek and one bemused eyebrow arched. Galo clears his throat and attempts to collect himself. "I, uh… I don't know what you're talking about?" He tries. As awkward as it sounds, it's true. How _else_ was he being stiff?

Lio sighs. He gives up on the makeup for now and walks over to Galo, giving his shoulder a shove. Surprised, Galo stumbles. Which he shouldn't have, because Lio was barely using any strength and Galo has a good head of height on him. "Stiff like _that_ ," Lio explains. "When I was pressed against you, you were rigid and your movements when you embraced me were too mechanical. Haven't you been in a relationship before?"

"Uh…" Galo looks away. He doesn't answer, but he doesn't need to.

"Oh." The tone in Lio's voice is part fond, part disbelieving. "Really? Not a one-night stand, not a high school sweetheart, not a whirlwind fling with someone that you thought was cute but turned out to be incompatible? You've _never_ done anything romantic before?" Lio pauses. "Galo… Have you even had your first kiss?"

Fuck. It shouldn't be as embarrassing as it is. Galo knows that Lio isn't going to make fun of him for it, but a part of him can't help but feel _inadequate_. He can tell by the way that Lio handled himself on stage that he's done this sort of thing plenty of times before. Lio is beautiful and he exudes confidence like he's never doubted himself in his life. He's probably had plenty of partners. He's probably not even a virgin and, unfortunately, Galo is. He has no idea what he's doing.

(He reminds himself that giving Lio CPR on the Parnassus doesn't count as a first kiss. Even though it technically was his first time and it was really nice aside from the Lio-is-dying part.)

"I've kissed someone!" Galo protests. Or, tries to, because his bravado fades rapidly as he continues. "I kissed a girl on the cheek in first grade. We were playing house during recess. And, well…" He shifts anxiously and wishes that he had something to do with his hands. "There was never a good time for it. I spent all of high school trying to do everything I could to get into Burning Rescue. And once I got to college-age... I've been on dates before, but girls never seemed all that interested once I started going on about matoi or had to explain for the tenth time that I regularly work twelve-hour shifts. So, no, I…" Galo takes a deep breath. Sighs. "I've never done anything more intimate than hand-holding." Unless what Lio did on stage counts, which Galo hopes that it does because it was one of the best experiences of his life.

He'd never even realized that he was into men before he met Lio, and then it was like everything _clicked_. Galo never considered when he was younger to try dating men over women because Galo had never pursued anyone at all — Galo just tended to say yes when women approached him because it seemed like the polite thing to do. He had more important things than dating on his mind at the time. And now it's a conscious effort to think about anything other than Lio.

The look on Lio's face is sympathetic, but not _pitying_. Which is good, hopefully. "I'm sorry," he offers, genuine. There's a lull before Lio adds, hesitating, "If you want, we could…" He doesn't finish, which is unfortunate because Galo has never been more interested in hearing the end of a sentence in his entire life.

"We could what?" He presses. Steps a little closer. Just in case this is going the way that Galo hopes it is.

"Well…" Lio looks embarrassed, which is a look that sits oddly on his delicate features. Galo's never seen Lio look like that before, and he wants to see it again. Wants to see what other unique expressions he can get Lio to make. "You've never kissed anyone."

He doesn't continue, so Galo nods. "I know." Where is this going?

"And I have," Lio points out.

There's a sort of pang in Galo's chest, to hear it confirmed out loud, but there's no regret or longing in Lio's voice so Galo doesn't think about any potential jealousy for very long. "So...?" He prompts. He wills his heart to stop beating so loudly, otherwise, he might miss Lio's response.

Lio grits his teeth, as if annoyed that he has to spell it out. But his face is too red for him to look annoyed very well, so the end result is stupidly endearing. " _So_ , I don't want you to lock up in public if we have to kiss. I could kiss you now, so you know what it's like. Just to…" He gestures with his hands at nothing in particular. "Get it out of the way, I suppose."

Galo holds his breath and counts to three before he answers because he thinks that grabbing Lio and shouting would come off a little too aggressive. A part of him knows that he should say no because this isn't how he wanted his first kiss with Lio to be. Not something to "get out of the way," but something that they enjoyed. And it would be special and wonderful and memorable. But Lio is also making a good point and a selfish part of Galo is okay with taking whatever he can get.

This fake dating thing can't last forever. And if one day Lio falls in love with someone, Galo wants to be able to be happy for one of his closest friends and move on. He won't be able to do that if he's always fantasizing, imagining what it might be like just for _one day_.

He nods. It feels monumental. "Sure." Then nothing happens and Galo isn't sure why. They're already standing so close that they're practically chest-to-chest. He tries again. "Do I lean down, or—?"

The question doesn't get the chance to be fully-formed. Lio leans up then and cups his face, dragging Galo into him. Their lips meet and it feels—

It feels sort of like mashing their mouths together. There's not a lot of skill being used, but it's still really nice. Galo wants to do it again and again and again. Lio's lips are just as soft as they were the first time, on the Parnassus, except this is so much better because Lio is awake and initiating and able to experience it with Galo.

He sets his hands on Lio's waist, gingerly. Just in case Lio wants him to remove his touch. But Lio steps closer instead, so Galo tightens his hold. He tilts his head, brow furrowing in concentration. Now that they've closed the space between them, Lio has calmed down. His mouth moves slower now, more purposeful, and he does something with his tongue that makes Galo hum encouragingly before he realizes what he's doing. He closes his eyes, trying to focus on Lio's movements. Galo returns the slow pace, tries to match what Lio does.

When they part, Galo isn't sure which one of them started to pull away first. He's having trouble understanding why either of them would ever pull away, for any reason. It feels like he could kiss Lio forever and ever and ever.

"So… That's a kiss," Lio says, maybe a little breathless. Maybe his lips are pinker, too, or maybe Galo is just seeing what he wants to see. He certainly is doing a lot of staring at Lio's mouth. "Good job." Lio's eyes flicker down to Galo's mouth before he pats Galo on the cheek, once, and steps away.

Galo nods vaguely and slowly lowers his hands back to his sides. "Yeah. Um… thanks. For that." He licks his lips and swears that he can taste Lio on them. Is that weird?

Before he can say anything else, Galo's phone goes off in his pocket. He's glad for the distraction, actually, because the atmosphere is getting way too heavy and Galo sort of can't breathe. He reaches for his phone without a second thought.

"Who is it?" Lio drifts a little closer. Not as close as before, though, and Galo wishes that he would.

"Aina." Galo reads her message and smiles. "She saw our interview. She was just letting me know that she has a few, uh, _notes_."

And just like that, Lio has snatched his phone from his hands. Galo pretends half-heartedly to be upset for a moment, but he doesn't care if Lio wants to text Aina back. Lio isn't the type to say something horrendous or inappropriate as a joke, which is why Galo added Lio's fingerprint to his phone lock. He has nothing to hide and, anyway, Lio doesn't snoop. Sometimes he just needs to text someone. Plus, Galo is hoping that getting Lio acclimated to a phone will encourage him to get his own so that Galo can finally call and text him.

Lio has this way of texting where he holds the phone in one hand and uses a single finger to tap out each letter individually. As cute as it is, it's not very efficient. Galo waits for a solid minute (he counted) before grabbing his phone back after Lio sends a text.

Aina  
  
**Today** 12:15 PM  
hey, saw your interview w/ lio  
if you guys are gonna inhale each other like that on tv, maybe we should do the next interview on pornhub. it was kind of hard to watch :/  
That's the idea. I don't do anything half-assed. — Lio  
children watch this show, guys  
If they're old enough to comprehend disgust, then they're old enough to know how to change the channel. — Lio  
**Read** 12:16 PM  


Galo glances down at the text and then back at Lio, exasperated, before stuffing his phone back into his pocket. "Happy?" He asks, wishing that he sounds more upset even though, honestly, he's trying not to smile.

"Very." Lio nods, and it should be illegal for him to look like that; lips pulled into a smug grin and his eyes twinkling with mischief. Galo thinks that maybe his heart skips a beat but it's sort of hard to tell because he's distracted trying to remember how to breathe. Then Lio's grin widens. "So… _Firebug_ , huh?"

Mortification turns Galo red from his neck to his hairline. He buries his face in his hands with a groan. " _Please_ don't start."

* * *

"I'm losing my mind." Lio runs both hands through his hair, for once not caring about musing his style.

He paces furiously in Burning Rescue's kitchen while Gueira and Meis watch, unbothered. Actually, Meis is filing his nails and Gueira is devouring some of Aina's leftovers. Their lack of investment doesn't dissuade Lio in the slightest.

"I don't think I can keep doing this. We _kissed_. He let me be his first kiss! How can we kiss and then he doesn't even say anything after? Doesn't he feel the same way? He has to, right? Galo isn't a good actor. He's calling me _Firebug_ and petting my hair and clinging to me _all the time._ What are the odds that he _doesn't_ feel the same?" Lio rants. He only stops to breathe.

"Astronomically slim," Meis drawls, bored, without even looking up.

"But that's still more than zero," Gueira adds with a wink. He earns himself a shove from Meis for that, which just gets Meis stabbed in the arm with a fork.

Lio stops pacing to groan, hiding his face in his hands. "This is stupid. I have more important things to worry about than my love life." He's quiet for about three seconds before he caves and throws up his hands. "He looked me in the eyes and told me that he's never been as happy as he is now! How am I supposed to process that in a way that doesn't destroy me emotionally?"

"Oh, yeah, we saw that. The apartment came with a TV." Gueira pushes the Tubberware aside now that he's done, folding his hands in his lap seriously. "Alright, Boss, I think your options here are pretty clear. Just go tell the big lug how you feel. It's that easy."

Lio struggles for a moment, then cries out, "I can't!" It's a good thing he's standing in the middle of the room, otherwise, he might slam his head into the wall. "All I've been doing is talking about how we need to make this look convincing, and it's just for the sake of the cameras, and how I want it to be practically storybook. He _kissed me_ and all I said was "good job!" Who _does_ that? He's got to think that I'm completely uninterested in him by now. I've been doing everything _except_ acknowledging any actual chemistry we have."

"Didn't you just go on a "date" with him yesterday?" Meis asks, air quotes included, clearly grasping at straws. "You didn't do anything romantic?"

"Not really." Lio props his chin on his hand, glaring at something in the distance. "There were pictures of us going into his apartment, so we went shopping for furniture and decorations as if we're living together. Which we might as well be because _now_ I have to make sure I'm seen coming and going from there pretty regularly. I bought some clothes that I'm going to be keeping in a drawer that Galo emptied out for me." He worries the tip of his thumbnail between his teeth. "We kissed again," Lio supplies weakly. "In the supermarket where they could see us, out the windows." It hadn't been as good as their first kiss, in private, but at least Galo didn't lock up when Lio pulled him down.

"Wow." Gueira sounds legitimately impressed. "You guys are _really_ committed to this bit."

Honestly, it's not that hard. Acting like a brain dead bimbo with no function other than being arm candy isn't _exactly_ Lio's idea of a good time, but hanging off of Galo and having the excuse to shower him with praise is _nice_.

Even if they were really dating, Lio knows he'd have trouble saying those sorts of things to Galo's face. He's better at being physically intimate than emotional, not like Galo. But Lio's willing to bet that he could do a _damn_ good job of showing Galo, physically, just how much Lio cares about him.

And, oh God, he's not proud of how much time he spends thinking about being Galo's first. Being his first kiss is already making Lio light-headed, but beyond that... He'd be so gentle, so slow, and Lio would make sure to ask just where Galo liked it. Lio can only imagine the sorts of expressions Galo would make when Lio touched him, noises that he's never made before coming from those perfect lips. ' _Like this? Don't muffle yourself, I want to hear you. You want more? You look so beautiful right now.'_

He snaps out of it when Meis waves a hand in front of his face. Lio colors. How long was he staring off into space?

"Boss, this is just getting sad. You've got it _bad_ ," Meis sighs.

"I just wish I knew if he returned my feelings or not." Impatient, Lio resumes pacing, faintly glad that his fantasizing didn't leave any visible evidence. "If he says those sorts of things to me away from the cameras, then that's a good indicator, but he doesn't. He never acts any differently when we're alone and it's _infuriating_."

He misses the exasperated look that Gueira and Meis share. Gueira props his elbow on the table and rests his cheek against his fist. "You talk about Galo so much that I'm starting to think _I'm_ in love with the guy," Gueira remarks flatly. "Seriously. When I go to sleep at night, all I can think about is how easy it is to get lost in his eyes, and how magical it is when we kiss, and his _huge tits_ —" He has to duck to avoid the boot that Lio chucks at his head, laughter breaking up the rest of what he was going to say.

"I swear to _God,_ I'm going to—!" Lio throws himself at Gueira, red-faced and holding his other boot like a weapon.

There's shouting and clamoring as the table and chairs bang together. The sight that greets Remi when he walks into the kitchen is Lio, gripping his boot like he's going to stab someone with the heel, being held at the waist by Meis while Gueira holds the table up by the legs like it's a shield. There's an empty Tubberware container on the ground.

Remi takes a long, slow sip from his coffee cup. The noise freezes the three of them in their tracks as they all turn to look at him. "Here to mooch off the food again?" He asks. He gets a chorus of nods — Meis is the only one who bothers to look even somewhat sheepish. Remi takes another sip. "You know, Galo is out with Aina on a house call about a cat stuck in a tree." More nods. "If I asked what was going on here, would you tell me?"

Lio snorts. "Are you going to stop trying to get me to join Burning Rescue? Don't think I didn't see the application slipped into my paperwork, I'm not that stupid."

"In my defense, that was Lucia's idea." Remi hides a smile around the rim of his cup. He walks over to the fridge and grabs the water bottle that he came to get for Varys. Tucking it under one arm, he gives the three stooges a two-fingered salute. To Meis and Gueira, he says, "Offer's still on the table for you two, also. As you were then, gentlemen." With his target acquired, Remi leaves.

They wait a few seconds more, just until he's out of hearing range, and then Lio tries to lunge for Gueira again. Unfortunately, Meis is still paying attention and he tightens his grip to keep Lio in place.

"Boss, come on! I know he's an idiot, but I promise you don't want to kill him!" Meis pleads.

"Is that so?" Lio narrows his eyes and Gueira takes a half-step back. "Give me one good reason why not."

"We'll talk to Galo for you!" Gueira blurts out. Meis begins to rapidly shake his head, but he goes ignored. "Seriously. We'll take him out for a drink or something and try to knock some sense into his skull."

There's a pregnant pause. Then Meis lets go of Lio and takes a step back, arms crossed. "I changed my mind. Kill him."

"No. I think I like that idea." Lio bends over to slip his boot back on and gestures for Gueira to toss back his other one. Gueira does but refuses to lower the table. "You two will talk to Galo about this _calmly_ and _subtly_. Don't force him into anything, just… try to get a sense for how he feels." Lio gives them both a pointed look. "I expect results within a week." Then he turns and walks out with an air of finality.

Once Lio's gone, Gueira lets out the breath he was holding and lowers the table. "Okay. So we have to talk to Galo. That's not that bad, right? He's a nice guy." He tries to get Meis to smile. It doesn't work. "A small price to pay to avoid being bludgeoned with a leather boot."

Meis hums. "You know, Boss isn't the only one who wears leather boots."

"What do you—? _Fuck_!" Gueira quickly has to raise the table again to block Meis when he darts forward. The squeal that he lets out is very manly and not high-pitched in the slightest. " _Boss! Come back!_ "

From the other room, all they get is Ignis' shout of, "You break anything, it comes out of your paycheck!"

Gueira's response is, "We don't work for you, _you bastard_!" And the rest is lost between babbling pleas for mercy and the thuds of Meis' steel-toed boots meeting furniture.

* * *

Galo sits down across from Meis and Gueira at the table they've already picked out. "Hey! Sorry I'm late, I had trouble finding the address you texted me. I don't go to bars much," he explains sheepishly.

"It's fine." Meis waves his apology off. There are already several empty glasses in front of him, although he looks no less sober than usual. "Sorry for the short notice. There's something important that we wanted to talk to you about."

"Okay." Galo nods. He waits. Several long minutes pass where Meis sips on his piña colada and Gueira fidgets with the edges of his jacket. Galo drums his fingers on the tabletop, thinking that maybe he's missing something. Is he supposed to make the first move? He opens his mouth to ask if they're both alright when Gueira cuts him off.

"Are you stupid?" He asks, point-blank. No easing into it, no context to help Galo pull together an answer.

"I… What?" Galo just sort of stares. He's not sure how to respond, although he's beginning to think that the answer is "yes," based on the way Gueira is looking at him.

"Are. You. _Stupid_?" Each word said with mounting intensity as Gueira gets to his feet.

In an attempt to stop the situation from escalating, Galo laughs. It comes out sounding strained. "Do you mean, like, in general, or is this about an incident in particular?"

That's apparently the wrong thing to say. Gueira grabs the table and flips it onto its side, shattering the glasses that were left on it and causing a customer at the table next to theirs to scream. Meis looks on, almost bored, swirling his drink around in his glass and nibbling on the pineapple garnish.

"How fucking _difficult_ is this?" Gueira explodes. "You and him both! If someone's inhaling you like that and going on and on about their devotion, how _hard_ is it to just ask if it's coming from someplace _genuine_ , huh? I honestly can't imagine how you two live your day to day lives with your heads so far up your own asses! _Just tell him that you love him!_ "

Galo raises an eyebrow. He eyes Gueira thoughtfully. "... Are you trying to tell me something?" He asks slowly.

Gueira screams. Honest-to-God _screams_ , in the middle of a bar that Galo is beginning to believe he'll never be allowed to revisit. " _That tears it_!" And he throws himself at Galo, knocking him out of his chair and to the ground.

By that point, the manager has come over to see what all of the commotion is about. Meis, still sitting with his legs crossed, greets the woman with a polite smile. "Here." He hands her a fifty dollar bill. "For the broken glasses. Sorry about that."

The two of them watch Gueira and Galo scuffle for another minute. It ends with Galo straddling Gueira and pinning him by his wrists, both of them screaming in each other's faces to the point that whatever they're saying is incomprehensible.

Meis finishes his piña colada with a noisy slurp. He turns to the manager and asks, "Can I get one of these to-go?"

They get kicked out after that, but Meis considers the evening a win because he does get his drink to-go. A shame that they're banned for life: the place had pretty good drinks.

* * *

Lio is in the middle of making coffee when he realizes that he's being cornered.

He darts away from the coffee machine, past Lucia who's been digging in the cupboards for chips for three minutes now, around Aina leaning against the wall and pretending to text, lunges over the table, and ducks Remi's grab to run for the doorway.

His impromptu exit is blocked by Varys. All two-hundred pounds of pure muscle of him, to be exact. Lio bounces off his chest like a rubber ball hitting a wall, and is a little impressed and a little stunned. Too stunned to react in time for evasive maneuvers, unfortunately.

Damn these bastards, with their hospitality and friendliness. They've made Lio's paranoia soft. He should have run from the room as soon as he sensed something was up.

Unfortunately, he can't do much when Varys sets his hands on Lio's shoulders, saying, "Not so fast, Fotia," and turns him back around to face the rest of Burning Rescue.

Scowling, Lio crosses his arms over his chest and allows it. Now that the jig is clearly up, Remi, Lucia, and Aina have given up on pretending to have any reason to be in the kitchen other than accosting him. They gather in front of him like they're preparing for an intervention.

"What?" Lio asks impatiently. He has better things to do than deal with whatever this is about. "If you're going to lecture me on my coffee intake, don't bother. Galo already tried."

Granted, maybe Lio shouldn't be drinking eight cups a day, but he has a lot of paperwork to get done! Galo's approval rating is rising every day and Lio wants to have all of his proposals in order, should the increasingly-likely-chance that Galo actually gets elected come to pass.

"It's not about coffee," Remi assures him. "Although you have been going through a greater-than-average amount of our supply and you're either going to have to start paying for it yourself or join Burning Rescue so we can write it off as a business expense."

"That again?" Lio rolls his eyes. He's starting to feel more exasperated than angry, which isn't a good sign. If he lets them wear him down, then it's only a matter of time until he's employed. And he'd rather die than wear one of those hideous jackets. "For the last time, I'm not interested in joining Burning Rescue. I don't even understand why you're so dead set on—"

"It's not about that, either!" Lucia cuts him off impatiently.

Lio frowns. "Then what—?"

"Speaking of Galo!" Aina jumps into the conversation with a painfully wide smile. "You two have been spending a lot of time together. Going on dates and things like that."

Alright, now Lio is officially lost. He has no clue where they're going with this. "Yes," he says slowly, nodding as though speaking to a child. "If we're going to pretend that we're dating for the sake of publicity, then we need to make sure that we give publications material to write stories about." They went to dinner at the nicest restaurant in Promepolis just the other night — of course, once the cameras were turned away, they both agreed that they hated it and promptly loosened their suits before going to get a pizza.

Lucia makes a face. "Yeah, we saw the photos of the other night. I don't see why you two had to spoonfeed each other."

Varys hums in agreement. He's let go of Lio by this point, although Lio doesn't think that he can move fast enough to get away before Varys can grab him again. For such a big guy, he's surprisingly nimble. "It would have been less obscene if you guys pre-chewed the food and fed each other mouth-to-mouth like birds," he says.

Even Lio shudders at the mental image. He tries to sneak around the others so he can go back over to the coffee machine. If they're going to harass him for whatever reason, Lio figures that he might as well get what he came into the kitchen for. "Yes, well, your constructive criticism has been noted. We'll tone it down." Not likely. For all that their friends bitch about their behavior, the press eats it up. Lio continues, "Thank you for the insight. Now, if you don't mind, I—"

"Not so fast." Aina stops him with a hand on his chest, pinning Lio in place with that honestly eerie smile. He's starting to think that she glued her face that way. "You know, you and Galo are great at pretending to date. But we've all been talking, and we think, why _pretend_?" All Lio does is stare. Aina's smile grows strained. "Why don't you date for real?"

"Oh." So _that's_ what this is about? Lio sighs forlornly. "Not that my love life is any of your business, but… I'd like to. I just…" He shrugs. "I have no idea if Galo feels the same or not," he confesses.

There's a long pause. The smile Aina is wearing doesn't falter, but it starts to look downright painful to maintain. "That's it. I fucking tried," she hisses under her breath. Then she pats Lio on the shoulder and darts around Varys to leave the room. "Good luck with that!" She calls over her shoulder, voice sing-song. It sounds like she's about to burst into laughter and then stab something.

It is genuinely one of the most spine-chilling things Lio has ever witnessed.

He turns back to the others helplessly. "Am I missing something?"

The three of them share a look. Remi holds his hands up in surrender. "Nope! I'm washing my hands of this dumpster fire. You guys are on your own." He leaves the kitchen as well. In the background, Lio is aware of the coffee machine beeping, telling him that his drink is ready.

Lucia pats him on the cheek sardonically as she walks by. "At least you've got a pretty face," she drawls. Lio bristles at the insult to his intelligence, but by the time he's decided how he wants to kill her for it, she's already gone.

"Varys?" He prompts forcefully, his glare fiery enough to kill a lesser man.

Still, Varys takes one big step back before answering. "Hey, don't look at me. They dragged me into it," he swears, lying through his teeth. When he makes his retreat, he avoids looking Lio in the eyes.

Alone again, Lio stands in the middle of the kitchen, completely and utterly lost. "What the fuck?" He breathes.

He's not sure how much time passes before Ignis enters the room, holding an empty coffee cup. "Fotia," Ignis greets with an incline of his head. He crosses over to the coffee pot and refills his mug. He sips from it without adding anything and makes a face. "Lukewarm," Ignis mutters, displeased.

"Hi, Captain Ignis." Lio waves absent-mindedly, still trying to catch up with what just happened. He looks over at Ignis, deeply confused. "Do you… Know what just happened, by chance?"

Ignis walks over to him and claps Lio on the back comfortingly. "You'll figure it out when you're older," is all he says. And when he leaves the kitchen, he mutters, "Idiots."

Lio has to remind himself that he made a vow not to kill anyone. "No matter _how much_ they deserve it," he tells himself, forcefully unclenching his fists as he lets out a shaky sigh.

He goes to collect his coffee. Hopefully, the caffeine will help with his developing migraine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't write smut, but if I ever did for this fandom, it would be ridiculously soft and emotional. Thinking about Lio and Galo crying their first time together makes me weak, alright? I don't have to justify myself when these two idiots are so hopelessly in love.
> 
> ALSO, Lio has the self-confidence to start making out with anyone on the street if you bet him fifty cents, no I don't take criticism. Content of Lio being blushy and embarrassed about physical affection is so small brain. Have you _seen_ the way he dresses, the way he carries himself? Lio has the confidence of a man who's met God and wasn't impressed. Galaxy brain: Lio is the furthest fucking thing from a virgin, and that's canon.


	4. Do Your Part to Save the Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my favorite time of the week again — update day!
> 
> I'm plugging [my playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZbILQYfUUYRVedCXMdCEz?si=d-A0i6G4RU6YHzfgayyx6A) for this fic again! This chapter goes from _Fall For You_ by Secondhand Serenade to _Bob Dylan_ by Fall Out Boy.
> 
> This is the last fun chapter before shit hits the fan.

"Are they still asleep?" Remi asks in a parody of a whisper.

Lucia, the designated lookout, peeks out of the kitchen to check. "So far, so good," she replies, keeping her voice low.

On the couch, Galo and Lio are passed out in brand new suits that have been rumpled and loosened. The night before, they had been out at a New Year's Eve charity thing for the rich and influential, and they'd hidden at Burning Rescue after to avoid the paparazzi. The result is that Galo is sprawled out on the couch, drooling into Lio's hair as they're curled together with their arms around each other.

It's honestly disgusting that they're not "officially" dating yet. The way that they treat each other is borderline obscene, they're so in love.

Hence why Burning Rescue (minus Ignis) has gathered in the kitchen upon seeing such a display when they came into work that morning. What better way to cope with frustration than gambling?

Lio is one of the lightest sleepers in the world so, even though he tends to sleep heavier when he's with Galo, the whole crew is keeping it quiet as they gather around Remi at the kitchen table. He pops open a metal box with several money clips and coin rolls stored neatly inside of it, everything from a penny to a hundred dollar bill.

"Alright," Remi begins, hushed, "the odds of any payoff within the next year have been determined to be three-to-one. Next year is two-to-five. The odds of Lio being the one to confess is ten-to-eleven, while Galo is at seven-to-one. That's quite the potential profit, folks. Taking all bets: you needn't fill both categories. Who wants to go first?"

Before either Varys or Aina can speak, Lucia darts over from the doorway and slaps a twenty-dollar bill on the table. "Sometime this month, betting on Lio," she hisses before returning to her vigil.

Remi lets out a low whistle. The noise makes Lio shift and groan on the couch. Everyone freezes. After a few seconds of silence, though, he settles back down and ends up nestled into Galo's chest even more than before. Lucia gestures that it's okay to continue speaking.

"Well, you don't get any points for being more specific, but confidence is what we like to see," Remi remarks. He puts the money away in his safe box and writes down Lucia's winning odds on a little pad of paper. "If you're right, that's a total pay-off of one-hundred-and-eighteen dollars. Aina, your bid?"

She considers for a moment before pulling her wallet out of her purse. "Uh, hm…" Aina flicks through her money a few times, debating with herself, then grows determined and hands Remi two twenties. "It'll be another year, at least. I'm betting on Galo — he's gotta slip up eventually, and Lio's too stubborn to do it himself." She rolls her eyes, exasperated.

Remi nods and jots down what she said. "That would give you three-hundred-and-seventy-six. Alright, Varys, you're next."

He's quieter for a longer period of time than Aina was. Varys was the one who helped Remi decide the odds — being a keen observationalist and a hopeless romantic, Varys' input combined with Remi's analytical mind made them an unbeatable team when it came to determining the odds for betting on their friends' love lives.

"Six months. Betting on Lio," Varys says at last. He forks over twenty dollars.

"Same pay-off as Lucia there, big guy." Remi writes it down. They don't get any points for being specific, true, but they do narrow their margin of winning by giving themselves a time limit. _Suckers_ … "And myself, I'm going to bet thirty on Lio, in more than a year which gives me…" Remi does the math quickly. "One hundred, if I'm right."

Lucia hums from over his shoulder and Remi nearly jumps out of his skin. When the _fuck_ had she gotten there? "Are you sure your math is right? Maybe you should get a second opinion." She gives Remi a shit-eating grin. "And raise my pay off while you're at it because I'm going to be right."

"If I was going to get a second opinion, which I'm not, I would ask someone who actually understands how gambling works," Remi says in a level voice, as patiently as he can manage it. Which isn't very. "You do realize that if you were likely to be right, your pay-off would be _lower_?"

She opens her mouth to retort and is cut off by the sound of footsteps stopping just outside of the kitchen. All four of them freeze before carefully turning to look. They're worried that Galo and Lio have discovered their gambling ring, but it's worse.

Ignis stands in the doorway, one hand clutching his _World's Best Captain_ mug and the other pushing up his shades to give everyone in the room full view of his disappointed frown.

It _stings,_ too. All Ignis has to do is stand there and the four of them are immediately cowed, ashamed of themselves.

Aina starts to apologize, as if being the first one to say it will make her more favorable in Ignis' eyes, but she doesn't get the chance. He stalks forward and drops a fifty-dollar bill into Remi's lap. "Sometime within the next year," Ignis says without breaking stride. His sunglasses settle back into place as he crosses to the coffee pot. "I'm betting on Galo."

The shame permeating the air is gone in an instant. Remi quickly scribbles it down while the others fight for space over his shoulder, wanting to see the potential profit. "Six hundred dollars," he announces after several tense seconds, sounding a little awed.

Varys chuckles. "Damn. That's our Captain for you," he says, and the others nod in agreement.

For a moment, it looks like there's a smile on Ignis' face. Then he turns away and presses the button to turn on the coffee machine. It comes to life with a beep that's normally easy to ignore. In the silence of the early morning station, however, it's ear-piercing.

There's a grunt from the other room as quiet breathing stops and Galo and Lio jolt awake. Then a thud, no doubt as Lio hits the ground. "Shit! I'm so sorry, Lio!" Galo fumbles to correct his mistake and there's more banging and cursing as the two of them begin to bicker.

Remi just sighs and closes his safe box, locking it with everyone's bets secured inside. It's going to be a long year if this is what they all have to look forward to...

* * *

"I like all sorts of genres! Country, pop, rap… I just like music. Okay, here's my question: if you could pick to keep either your body or your mind from aging, which would you choose and why?"

Lio snorts, bumping Galo with his shoulder. "Really? _That's_ your question?"

"Hey, that's a good question!" Galo defends, propping himself up on his elbows with a laugh. "Now answer it. You said we'd go back and forth until we ran out of things to ask."

They're laying on the roof of Burning Rescue, arms pressed together, star-gazing as best as they can in the middle of downtown. The night air is nice, but a little on the cold side — Galo figures that that's why Lio has been scooching closer to him the entire time they've been out there. Lio is always cold. He sort of wants to put his arm around Lio's shoulders, but he's not sure if that would be acceptable.

"Okay, okay." Lio holds his hands up in mock surrender. "I would pick my body. It's important for your mind to develop, but your body is the most limiting thing. I want to stay agile and be free of back pain." He pauses. "That, and I'm a little vain."

"A _little_?" Galo teases. He knows that Lio likes to take care of his appearance, which is fine because he always looks amazing so it definitely pays off. Galo really only puts effort into his hair.

That comment gets him another shoulder bump, which is getting increasingly difficult for Lio to do with how close their sides are. Galo doesn't point it out and Lio doesn't shift away. "Shut it. It's my turn for a question." Lio quiets while he thinks, hands folded over his stomach. "If you could give yourself a nickname, what would you want people to call you?"

Galo thinks about it for a few seconds. "I'm not big on nicknames. Probably nothing," he says at last. He's been working on pet names for them to use in public, but he's pretty sure that those aren't the same as nicknames. And he's too embarrassed to ask if Lio actually _likes_ being called "Firebug" or if he just tolerates it. It's his turn to ask a question so Galo blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "Do you remember how I saved your life? On the Parnassus?"

Because Galo remembers. He thinks about it, every fucking day. Lio with his hair falling apart in some imaginary breeze, his legs down to the knees and his arms at the elbows. His body hollow, nothing but ash waiting to be blown away. Galo sees it in his dreams, nightmares that he always wakes up from crying. Sometimes he saves Lio, sometimes he's too late. He wonders if that's what Lio dreams about. It's not uncommon for them to wake each other up screaming.

In the aftermath of his question, the fun mood is gone. Lio nods. "Yes," he says quietly, in a tone that could either be good or bad. Galo can't tell. "Do you remember what happened after? In the Galo de Lion?"

How could he ever forget? "Yes." Galo shifts and, before he can talk himself out of it, slips his arm around Lio's shoulders. Instead of getting berated for it, Lio lifts his head to make it easier and settles closer against him. Neither of them looks away from the stars. "Do you miss me?" He asks, elaborating before Lio can answer. "Because I miss you. All the time. Like crazy. It feels too quiet in my head now. It's like I can't fit right in my own skin anymore." He used to be part of _Lio's_ head, of _Lio's_ body, and now he's just Galo, alone again.

He should be okay with it, but he's not. Mostly, Galo is lonely.

It takes longer this time for Lio to answer. "Yes," he replies long after Galo thought that he wouldn't. There's something tight in Lio's voice that he can't identify. "I've never missed anyone more than I miss you."

Galo swallows. Nearly chokes on his tongue. Works his jaw and tries again. "I think I'm done with questions for tonight," he whispers. Lio nods, head bobbing along his bicep, and they settle into silence on the cold roof.

It's nice, having these stupid question nights together. Lio suggested it because they need to be able to answer any spontaneous questions about each other that they might get from paparazzi. Galo accepted because he would take any opportunity to spend more time with Lio. (And because yesterday he had to testify in court against Kray and Galo isn't sure how he feels about it yet, hates himself more for not hating Kray as much as everyone else seems to.)

Lio is normally an excellent distraction from the other things that Galo doesn't want to think about. But getting to know each other "the old fashioned way" has the unfortunate side-effect of reminding Galo what he used to have with Lio. When they were literally one person, one mind, one body, one soul. He saw Lio's life flash before his eyes. They hadn't needed to think to each other because their thoughts had blurred into one. The link that they had in the Lio de Galon, that kept them piloting in sync without needing to argue, doesn't even compare.

He wishes more often than he should that he could go back to that. Back when understanding Lio was as easy as understanding himself. In comparison, knowing Lio's favorite color has never felt more trivial.

Not that Galo doesn't want to know that, anyway — and his next step is somehow needling Lio's birthday out of him.

* * *

Things are going wonderfully, as far as the public is concerned, so it's not a huge surprise when something goes wrong. Actually, Lio is mostly surprised that it didn't happen sooner, considering that it's already nearly May. With the rapid growth that Galo's platform is getting, all of his talking points being focused on genuine ways to help as many people as possible during such difficult times, sabotage is inevitable.

Lio thought he was prepared for anything: but this rumor is one that he's not ready for.

He's at a charity auction. He has no idea what the charity is or what sort of items are being auctioned, and he doesn't plan to stick around long enough to find out. For once, Lio is attending a black-tie event without Galo. He's here for business.

It doesn't take long for him to find his target in the crowd, but Lio doesn't approach her. She doesn't approach him, either, although he knows that she's aware of his presence. What actually ends up happening is that, as the guests mingle before the auction begins, the shift of the people around the room gradually pushes them together.

After a few months of "dating" Galo, Lio is no longer quite the public pariah that he was before. He makes animated small talk, carries himself like he belongs with the elites, and promotes Galo's platform whenever he can.

And eventually, Lio comes face to face with Governess Miranda. He pretends that it isn't his sole purpose for being there that evening, sipping on the drink he'd grabbed. Lio isn't sure what it is, but it's in a wine glass. "Governess," he says politely. Unless one is intimately familiar with Lio's body language, they would never be able to tell how much he wants to grab this woman in a chokehold. "I do hope you're keeping in good health. I heard about that rumor going around — with your daughter." He clicks his tongue. "You must be ashamed."

She's not, of course. Miranda was the one to start it, Lio is certain. The smile that she gives him confirms it. "Oh, I'm keeping up fine on my own. You must be devastated, though. Cheating is nothing to be taken lightly." She lets out a little gasp of surprise. "And you and Galo had such a perfect relationship, too. At least, in front of the cameras."

Lio hums, not taking the bait. He hides his reply with another sip of his drink. "You're slipping, you old crow. Starting that rumor about our relationship backfired and now you're trying to cover your ass. With your own daughter, no less. I always thought you were heartless, but I never thought you would so shamelessly confirm it." He doesn't look at her. He swirls the wine around its glass and tries not to think about how much it looks like blood. Instead of murder, Lio thinks about splashing it on Miranda's all-white gown instead.

He's grown to hate white clothing.

Miranda chuckles. "Shamelessness keeps you alive in this industry. Galo is a good kid, but he's barely more intelligent than a fifth-grader and he's _far_ too kind to handle the responsibilities of being Governor. I'm doing you a favor," she says over her shoulder as she turns to walk away. "Quit while you're ahead."

He lets her go because this whole conversation has been taxing enough as it is and Lio only needed to confirm what he already suspected. Allegations of Galo cheating on him, with the Governess' daughter… It's like something out of a soap opera. But people love melodrama and the press has been eating it up all week, acting as if it's already true when no one has seen Galo anywhere near the Governess' daughter since they were children.

Maybe it's true that Galo isn't going to be able to handle being Governor. But it's also true that neither he nor Lio knows when to quit.

On the way out, Lio upturns his drink into a potted plant and drops the empty glass into the branches. If these motherfuckers want melodrama, then Lio's about to knock them out of their seats.

* * *

Galo thinks that the rumor that he's cheating is pretty funny. Lio finds it less amusing, but it's just so ridiculous to Galo! It's not like he's ever seen in public anymore without Lio clinging to his side, or at least without his Burning Rescue crew. He never has a moment alone except for the nights at his apartment that Lio is staying with Gueira and Meis. And Galo doesn't mind — he prefers it that way, actually.

It's sort of funny to think that he would even have the _opportunity_ to cheat on Lio. Which, it goes without saying, Galo would never do. Even though their relationship isn't real. But if it were real, he would be doubly-sure not to cheat on Lio.

The idea that Galo could be attracted to someone that's _not_ Lio is even funnier. He's pretty convinced at this point that Lio is hand-crafted by some higher power to be the literal embodiment of sexiness, but he's also pretty sure that he's not supposed to say things like that out loud so he keeps it to himself and only compliments Lio's appearance in front of the cameras. Does Lio _like_ having his looks complimented? Galo should ask because he's been really tempted lately to crack open a thesaurus so he can learn more ways to say "beautiful." He doesn't think there's a word anywhere that can describe how lovely Lio is, though.

He's getting off-track. That happens a lot when he thinks about Lio.

At the moment, Galo is supposed to be having dinner. He's at the fanciest restaurant in the city — Masa — again, even though he and Lio both hate it here. It's where rich people go to publicly hash out their personal drama, according to Lio, so Galo tries not to fiddle with his suit and scowls at his salad instead. It's outside to inside, right? He picks up the littlest fork and Lio nudges him under the table. Galo goes for the second-littlest one instead, which must be correct because Lio doesn't stop him. So Galo eats the salad and tries not to think too much about that pot roast Varys had been making at the base before they left to get ready.

There's an empty chair across from them at their small table, an untouched salad left waiting, but it doesn't stay empty for long.

A woman slides into the seat without saying a word. It's been a few years since Galo last saw her, but he recognizes her immediately. She has her mother's olive complexion and dark hair.

"Kristolyn," Lio says without an ounce of emotion. His smile couldn't be more insincere if he tried. "I'm glad that you could join us today, in spite of the unsavory rumors going around. Your husband must be devastated."

Although dressed to the nines in finery, Kristolyn just gives Lio a bored look and stabs her salad with the closest fork to the bowl. Propping her elbow on the table, she rests her chin in her palm and gestures at him with the piece of lettuce on the end of her fork. "Cut the shit, Fotia. I'm not in the mood for the polite small talk that rich people engage in because they think it makes them seem more clever than they actually are." She takes a bite and makes a face before promptly pushing the salad to the side. "Galo." Kristolyn gives him a smile that's at least halfway genuine. "Nice to see you again. Damn, you've really grown. Way to fill out that suit."

They used to be what Galo considers "friends" when they were little. Sometimes Galo would show up at Kray's office unannounced during meetings, so his Lieutenant Governor, Yvette, started bringing her daughter and having Kristolyn keep an eye on him. She's a few years older than Galo, but she never made him feel like a child. She was at least decent with him, entertaining Galo's fantasies about being a hero and complimenting him on his struggling test scores. They haven't spoken in years, and a part of Galo regrets that, but another part of him thinks that it was inevitable.

"Hi, Kristolyn," he says kindly anyway, even if his smile is a little strained. Seeing her is like being slapped in the face by memories of Kray, all of the humiliating ways that Galo chased after his attention as a child. Shame curls hot and heavy in his gut, and Galo hopes that whatever Lio's plan is, he hurries up with it. "I didn't know you were married. Congrats."

Kristolyn shrugs. "Two years now. He's a nice guy. He likes mommy's money almost as much as I do. And before you ask," she says when Lio goes to open his mouth, " _yes_ , he knows about the rumor, and no, he doesn't care. Do you think my mother would start something like that without running it by me?"

Galo can tell that Lio's answer to that question is going to be " _yes,"_ so he speaks up instead before this conversation can dissolve into insults. "Well, we just want the rumor to go away, so we were wondering if you would come forward in public about it being fake," Galo says. "Please," he adds for good measure.

The look that Kristolyn gives him is both exasperated and fond. "Jesus, you really are an idiot…" She shakes her head. "I'll come forward against the rumors, sure, but it won't be cheap. And you two can't compete with the paycheck that my mother is giving me to stay quiet."

"I've no doubt that you're right," Lio responds simply. Hearing him go without a fight throws Galo for a loop. Kristolyn looks equally as surprised. "It doesn't matter. You can keep being quiet, just do it sitting right there."

And then Lio stands up so suddenly that his chair goes flying back, smacking into the ground with a loud thud. His dishes clatter noisily. The live piano music cuts out. Every person in the room is now staring at them, the quiet chatter of polite, stuffy dinner conversations long gone.

The attention doesn't phase Lio in the slightest. "Galo Thymos!" He shouts, turning to Galo.

As caught off guard as he is, Galo tries to play along. "Um, uh... Lio Fotia?" He hopes it's not obvious that he's panicking.

Thankfully, they're not about to have a staged fight in public that Lio just forgot to give Galo the script for. He steps so close that his knees are bumping the seat of Galo's chair, leaning down to cup Galo's face. "I know there have been rumors of you cheating on me," he says loudly. Several other customers have pulled out their phones and started to record. "I want you to know that I never believed them for a moment. Rumors are just rumors. What you and I have is so much more than a few careless words could ever destroy. Because…" And Galo watches Lio's lips form the words, feels dread lace down his spine. "I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, more than I thought it was _possible_ to love someone, Galo Thymos."

Oh, God, it's just like their first kiss. Galo has always wanted to hear Lio say that to him, to hold him like this and look into his eyes like nothing else exists. And it's not real. Lio doesn't mean it. The knowledge _hurts,_ bitterness lashing at him like acid.

Galo wonders if Lio is aware that it's been one year since they first met, to the day.

But if there's one thing Galo has gotten good at recently, it's lying when he knows that people are watching. He grins right back and stands up, setting his hands around Lio's waist. "I know. And I would never cheat on you, you know. I respect you too much for that. Because I love you, too."

The smile on Lio's face is a sad one. Before Galo can study it too much, Lio is leaning up and pulling him down, and they're kissing in the middle of the restaurant. It's not hard to kiss Lio. Galo's gotten very good at it with all the practice recently, but the only time they ever did it in private was the first time. He wishes that every time could have been in private. There's a polite smattering of applause from the people watching, then Lio snakes his arms around Galo's neck, tucks his knee between Galo's legs, and nudges one of Galo's hands down to cup his ass. The applause turns into startled laughter and a few wolf whistles. Galo's face is _burning_. He tries very, very hard not to so much as twitch his fingers. He is _not_ going to feel Lio up in public.

Still sitting where they left her, Kristolyn sighs. "You guys are disgusting," she says affectionately, and flags down their waiter for the bill.

* * *

As rewarding as getting laws and stimulus packages drafted up feels, Lio has to admit, there's nothing quite as good as helping his people in person. Seeing the looks on their faces makes him feel so _full_ , there's no other word for it. Like helping his community silences the yawning hole that the promare's departure left in his chest.

The only other thing that helps his emptiness is Galo. Lio wishes that it was Gueira and Meis because that would be so much easier, but he's never fallen in love with them or fused his soul with theirs. So. That might be why Galo is just special to him.

Today, Lio took a break from his work to devote the entire day to volunteering at an orphanage for Burnish children, with Meis and Gueira tagging along. They did arts and crafts, told stories, made lunch with the kids helping, and played games until the kids were practically passing out on their feet. Seeing their smiles was the best part of the day. Even when Lio was helping tuck them into bed, they looked so happy.

He just wishes that the two women running the place would have let Lio donate. They told him that his time was more than enough, but that doesn't get them food or clothes or toys. But it was also clearly an argument that he wasn't going to win, so Lio is leaving now with a bitter tinge to what was, otherwise, an amazing day.

And bitterness makes him think, and thinking inevitably circles back to Galo. Lio can't stop thinking about the day before. He might as well have proposed, with some of the things that he said. " _I love you…"_ And Galo must think that Lio was faking it after the way he played it up. The thought makes his stomach turn. It's not that Lio has commitment issues, but he's not going to commit to this farce for anything more than dating.

He knows that he needs to tell Galo how he feels. Even if he gets rejected — which Lio is _mostly_ sure won't happen — it can't be any worse than the uncertainty that's driving him crazy.

Of course, his (former) generals notice Lio's mood shift almost immediately. They're walking to the bus stop when Meis elbows him. "Hey, what's got you upset? I thought you'd be in a good mood for a week after that visit we did," he jokes. "Is it something that Galo did?"

Lio scowls, elbowing Meis back perhaps a little harder than necessary. "I think about things other than Galo," he retorts.

Gueira makes a noise to indicate that he isn't buying it. "Right. So what did lover boy do this time? I thought you two kissed and made up a few nights ago when you got rid of those cheating allegations."

There's no point in pretending that he's upset about anything else. Lio sighs, defeated. "That's the problem. All of the talk about commitments and devotion has just got me… thinking," he admits.

"Oh, spicy!" Gueira crows. "You gonna propose, Boss? I call best man!"

"Not so fast." Meis stops walking and narrows his eyes challengingly. "We talked about this _months_ ago. If the boss gets married, we'll settle who's the best man the same way that we settled everything back in Mad Burnish." He pauses for dramatic effect, although all three of them know the answer. "A game of Chicken."

As is typical of him, Gueira's expression lights up at the mention of a challenge. He grins dangerously. "Same rules as always?" He asks.

Meis nods once. "First one to put out the fire is the loser."

"We start it on our dicks?"

"Where else?"

"You're on!" Gueira announces and he goes fumbling for his lighter.

"Guys!" Lio cuts them off before they can set their pants on fire in public without _at least_ one trained firefighter present. He's sure that Galo would be happy to be the referee for them and put them out once a winner is decided, but he's not going to say that because encouraging two dumbasses who aren't fireproof anymore to go around lighting up their clothes has " _BAD IDEA"_ written all over it. "This is unnecessary. No one is getting married, least of all me. And even if I was, Meis would be the best man."

" _What_?" Gueira cries, outraged, while Meis shoots a mocking laugh his way.

"In title only," Lio explains, exasperated. "You would both be the best man spiritually at the reception, and I'm expecting you both to have heartwarming speeches to make everyone in attendance cry, but the best man plans the bachelor party and Meis is more responsible. The last time you planned a party, Gueira, it ended with an orgy."

"Okay, _and_?" Unconvinced, Gueira frowns challengingly. "I don't see how that's a negative. That was some of the best sex of my life. Holy shit, the _things_ that one girl could do with her _tongue_ —"

The rest of his statement is, thankfully, cut off when Meis jams his bony elbow into Gueira's gut. "So how come you don't want to get married, Boss? You love Galo, don't you?" He asks, changing the subject blatantly. Lio is too grateful to call him out on it.

"Well, yes, obviously." Lio turns to keep walking. Much as Meis and Gueira love to give each other shit, Lio wants to sleep in a bed at some point tonight. He only has so much patience for standing around and talking when the temperature drops rapidly with the sun now that autumn is coming. Just a few more months until the election... "But I'm not going to ask Galo to marry me the way things are now. It would be publicized beyond belief. And if I'm going to get married, it's going to be private and intimate. Not to mention, the groom doesn't think we're faking it for publicity," he adds with a grimace.

Meis makes a sympathetic noise. "Yeah. I can see how that would put a damper on the romantic part of getting married."

"Or the fun part that comes after," Gueira cuts in. He steps to the side to avoid a smack from the back of Meis' hand before continuing, more seriously, "How long are you going to let this drag on before you just tell him how you feel?"

"I don't know." Lio wraps his arms around himself self-consciously, a feeling that settles unnaturally in his chest. It's foreign and odd and he doesn't like it at all — he is _Lio fucking Fotia_ , goddamnit. He's a leader and a warrior and a fighter. He is not supposed to crumble to his knees at the first sign of _emotion_. "Right now I just feel _awful_. I'm using Galo to push my own political agenda. He's under so much stress, and for what? So I'll have an easier time getting some old people to look at a few pieces of paper?" He can't keep the anger out of his voice. All of those times during interviews that Lio said Galo deserves better… Maybe he wasn't far off.

"It's okay." Meis sets a consoling hand on Lio's back. "Stressed or not, Galo's not doing anything that he doesn't want to do. He wants this too, Boss. He wants to help you."

Lost in thought, Lio nods vaguely. "And the Burnish," he adds absentmindedly.

Meis shrugs. "Sure. Whatever you two tell yourselves."

After that, they fall into silence. Lio feels a little better, sort of, but his thoughts are still running in circles. He doesn't notice Meis and Gueira fall back a few steps, and he definitely doesn't notice Meis hovering over Gueira's shoulder as he sends off a quick text.

Pinkie  
  
**Today** 6:17 PM  
hey is it 2 late 2 get in on that betting pool u guys r doing???  
it's getting that bad, huh?  
well, you came to the right place ;)  
how much are you offering?  
i got $20 & meis is offering $35  
well talk more next time we see each other in person  
this channel isnt secure  
understood. i look forward to it


	5. Desperate Times (Call for Excessively Dramatic Measures)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys know the drill, the playlist is [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZbILQYfUUYRVedCXMdCEz?si=d-A0i6G4RU6YHzfgayyx6A). This chapter goes from _Like Real People Do_ by Hozier to _broken_ by lovelytheband.

Galo sighs. He glances over at Aina sitting on the couch next to him, who continues to flip through her magazine unbothered. He sighs again, louder. Still nothing. He tries a third time, tossing his head back and jostling Aina with his leg so that she nearly drops her magazine.

She lets out a hard breath and puts it down, giving Galo a sweet smile. Her eyes say, " _If I didn't care about you so much, I'd kill you for this."_ Her mouth says, "Yes, Galo? Is there something that you wanted to talk about?"

"There's nothing to do around here!" Galo explodes, gesturing at the empty garage around them. He and Aina are the only two people in the building since the others got called out for a fire, and the silence and lack of action are _killing_ him. "This is so unfair. I still don't see why Ignis said that I had to sit this out!"

Aina gives him an unimpressed look. She tosses her magazine on the table in front of them, apparently having given up on reading it for as long as Galo is in this mood. "Uh, because last week you disobeyed orders to run into a burning building and we had to dig you out of the smoldering rubble and rush you to a hospital? You're lucky Ignis is letting you within ten miles of this building." She snorts. "I'm surprised _Lio_ is letting you be here right now. I'm not sure which one of them wanted to strangle you more."

"There was still someone in there, what was I supposed to do?" Galo shoots back with a groan. It's not the first time he's given his side of the argument, and it's still not doing anything to change Aina's mind. "Anyway, I don't get the big deal. The building was already put out, I only had minor burns. And the nurse who did my stitches said that they won't leave scars," he says proudly.

"You have the dumbest luck…" Aina shook her head fondly. "How would you feel if Lio was the one in your place?"

Galo shifts uncomfortably. "Well, I was just… Lio's smart," he says finally. "I went in because I figured I could handle the weight if the roof collapsed. He's smaller than me, he wouldn't risk himself like that."

Aina raises an eyebrow, partly amused. "Really? Are we talking about the same person? Lio Fotia? You're going to tell me with a straight face that he would put himself before someone trapped in a burning building because it wouldn't be very smart to go in for them," she says flatly.

And, okay, when she says it like _that_ it sounds pretty ridiculous. Galo colors. "... He tried the same argument on me after I got out of the hospital," he mutters, crossing his arms. He's not pouting. He's _not_. "I really scared you guys, didn't I?"

"Yes." Aina sets a hand on his arm and gives a sympathetic smile. "I know your comms cut out, but you should've heard the way Lucia was screaming at you. I thought you were going to make Remi cry and Varys would have torn through the building himself if Ignis didn't hold him back and make him wait for the right equipment." Galo smiles at her reassuringly and Aina blinks rapidly to clear her eyes. "Don't do that again, okay?"

He sighs. "I couldn't promise Lio that, and I can't promise it to you, either, Aina. I want to help people. I'm okay with getting a little banged up doing it." Galo pounds on his chest for emphasis, bruises beneath his shirt already well on their way to healing. "Don't worry, though! My burning soul would never go out in the line of fire. The shame would kill me if the building didn't," he jokes.

The laugh that Aina lets out is more surprised than amused, and she knocks Galo gently with her shoulder. "That's not funny," she chastises. In an effort to lighten the mood, she changes the topic. "What would Lio think if he heard you say that? The way he rushed into the hospital, it was like you _were_ dead." When Galo doesn't take the bait, Aina continues innocently. "How are things with you two, anyway?"

Galo has a furrow between his brows, a sign that he's thinking deeply about something. "It's… a lot of pressure," he says eventually.

"What? The campaign?" Aina blinks. "Your approval ratings are doing great, Galo. The poll that they did the other day had you projected at—"

"No, not the Governor stuff." Galo gets to his feet and paces the short length of the couch. He turns to Aina, starts to speak, then paces a few more times before he finds the words. "It's Lio. I love spending time with him and getting to do that mushy couple stuff that you all gag about, but…" He gestures helplessly. "It's not genuine. We do stupid shit together all the time. We had dinner at my place once when he stayed the night and we got into a bet and decided to see who could hold a ghost pepper in their mouth for the longest amount of time without spitting it out."

Aina decides that she doesn't want to know what prompted that. She doesn't need to ask who won, either — Galo's lack of gloating speaks volumes. "Okay. And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing!" Galo says quickly. "It's great, it's _amazing_. I just wish that we could be like that all the time. In public, there's this pressure to keep up appearances. I can't do things with Lio that I'd actually want to do if we were really dating. Like…" He fumbles for an example. "Like picking him up. I want to pick up Lio all the time. You know I can get my hands all the way around his waist?"

Galo touches his thumbs and pointer fingers together to demonstrate, holding his hands up for Aina to see. She raises an eyebrow. It's not saying a lot, to be fair — Galo has pretty big hands and Lio has a trim waist. Galo can also get his hands around her waist and most of the way around Remi's waist, not that he ever stands still enough for them to be _entirely_ sure.

"It's really distracting!" Galo shouts, continuing to pace more furiously than before. "I want to pick him up and carry him, or spin him around, or give him piggy-back rides! Is that weird? He could kill me with a flick of his wrist so I think it's fair if I get to be a little weird about his waist."

Swallowing a laugh, Aina hides her grin with her hand. The bet that she made with Remi and the others flashes through her mind. If Galo comes clean any time in the next month, she loses. Not that she cares about the bet, of course. At this point, Aina just wants them both to stop shooting each other longing glances during work.

"Why don't you tell him that?" Aina suggests.

Immediately, Galo freezes. "What? That I like his waist?" Galo connects his hands again. "I mean, I guess I could, but I don't think he'd take it very well. He doesn't like to be called small. Not that I'm doing it to make fun of him, I just—" He scrunches up his face. "Is there a way to tell someone that you like the size of their waist without making it into a short thing?"

...Or maybe this whole thing is hopeless and Galo and Lio are both just too stupid to find love in this lifetime.

" _No_ , not the waist thing." Aina rolls her eyes. "Tell Lio that you love him and you want to date for real. You could even make a grand gesture with it all— something to show him that you're entirely serious about wanting to commit to him and you really care about him."

And to her delight, Galo actually looks like he's considering it. He cups his chin thoughtfully, head tilted to the side. "A grand gesture…" He repeats, musing aloud. Then Galo's expression lights up. "Aina, you're a genius!"

She reaches forward and snatches her magazine back from the table, smiling smugly. "Yeah, you've said that once or twice."

Taking Aina by surprise, Galo leans down and envelops her in a tight hug. "Holy shit, I love you _so much_. Tell Ignis that I'm taking the day off after all, I gotta go do something!" He pulls back and runs off to gather his things from his locker.

Aina sits there for a minute, gathering herself. She smiles, sad, but only for a second. "Love you, too," she mutters long after Galo has left the building. There's no bitterness. It's not like it was a competition: Aina knew where this was going as soon as she saw the lengths that Galo was willing to go to for Lio, all the way back to the fight on the Parnassus.

That idiot… Galo hadn't even noticed that he kept putting "rescuing Lio" as a priority over "saving the world." And _everyone_ had seen him staring — even after Lio put on a shirt, Galo just stared at his leather-clad ass instead. It's not so much a _surprise_ as it is a _relief_ , at this point. It's about damn time.

Before she turns back to her magazine, Aina shoots off a quick text.

Bastard #2  
  
**Today** 1:54 PM  
fair warning: you guys shouldn't have bet so far out  
what did u do  
**Today** 2:07 PM  
U CHEATING BITCH

* * *

For once, Lio is actually having a good time at a formal event. He's wearing a new suit for it and everything. The checks that Ignis has been slipping him for his volunteer work with Burning Rescue have steadily been getting bigger and Lio hasn't called him out on it yet. Maybe it's his good mood, or maybe it's the wine he's had, but Lio is starting to think that joining Burning Rescue wouldn't be a terrible, awful, disastrous idea after all.

Ha. Yeah, right.

It's a campaign party that they decided to have a week before the election, just to thank everyone who donated to Galo's efforts in advance. Whether they win or not, it's amazing that they got this far at all. And Lio is so, so proud of Galo. So proud that it hurts, makes his chest tight, makes his head swim with affection. Or maybe that's the alcohol again.

Either way, the good mood carries Lio from person to person, thanking them for coming, for their support, for believing in a better future for the city. There are plenty of former-Burnish there too, people that Lio recognizes from barely being able to find housing after the Parnassus, and now they're wearing new clothes and they look like they've put on weight. They're all so full of hope when they talk about the sort of changes Galo wants to make that Lio feels like he might cry.

He's glad that Galo didn't listen back at the beginning of all of this when Lio told him that running for Governor was a terrible idea. Even if they don't win, seeing the way that it's encouraged the community to rally behind a common goal is so validating.

It's a start. Lio will take what he can get, at least this time around.

The clock on the wall is ticking dangerously close to midnight when Galo pulls Lio out of the audience and to the front of the room. There's a little podium up front where Galo had made a formal speech a few hours ago. He doesn't look formal now, suit untucked and tie loosened and his hair just frazzled enough that all Lio wants to do is run his hands through it until it looks like a disaster zone.

"Attention! Attention, please!" Galo's not using the microphone, but his voice gets everyone's attention anyway. While their guests quiet down, he moves the podium out of the way to give himself more room on the little raised portion of the room. "I know we've all had a good time tonight, and this is definitely a celebration, but I want to make an announcement and this seems like a good time to me. We've already got so much to be happy about, why not one thing more?"

From the audience, Lio hears cheering as though from a distance. His smile is slipping. There's a nasty voice in the back of Lio's head that knows where this is going. He tries to silence it, but can't do much other than stand there helplessly when Galo turns that sunshine smile on him.

He is so _weak_ for this man. It's destroying him.

"This party is to celebrate all of you guys," Galo begins, nodding at the room, "but I wouldn't have been able to get this far without the help of my friends. And most importantly, Lio Fotia, my boyfriend."

Galo takes his hand. Lio almost doesn't hear the rest of what he says through the ringing in his ears. His smile is gone.

"Lio…" Unfortunately, Galo doesn't notice. He's staring at their conjoined hands as if looking Lio in the eyes would ruin the momentum that he's built up. Galo is forcing the words out one by one, and each and every last one of them _burns_. "You've been so amazing to me the last year and a half we've known each other. In a lot of ways, I feel like I'm completely different from the guy on the rooftop that you let get you arrested. But most importantly, I've realized something. I don't _just_ love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He gets down on one knee and Lio _can't fucking breathe_. "We've accomplished so much together, and I want to accomplish so much more." He lets go of Lio's hand to pull out a ring box. Nestled inside is a simple silver band with an engraving on it that Lio can't read from his current angle. "Lio Fotia, will you marry me?"

Lio's feet are frozen to the spot. He can hear the audience going crazy, their cheers almost as loud as his heart thudding in his ears. Galo looks up at him then and the smile on his face is gone immediately, like blowing out a candle. He falters. Lowers the box. Lio isn't sure if he wants to snatch the ring up or beg Galo to put it away.

It's definitely _not_ the wine that's making the room spin now.

"Lio?" Galo's voice is softer now, less intense but still just as affectionate. He looks worried and confused and _scared_. Lio hates that that look is because of something he's done. "Are you alright? Is it—? Do you not want to…?" He bites his lip self-consciously, closing the ring box with a note of finality.

The soft sound of it clicking shut is the last straw.

He takes a step back. Lio knows that he must look like a cornered animal, which is astute because that's how he feels. By now, the audience has realized that this proposal isn't going very well and the cheering has been replaced by whispers. It feels too hot in the room; like the walls are closing in, like he's going to die if he keeps standing there.

"I have to go," Lio manages. He turns on his heel and darts for the emergency exit without looking back. He hears Galo calling out for him to wait, but the noise cuts out as soon as Lio slams the door shut behind him.

For once, the cool night air is a blessing. Lio's head clears enough for him to remember that Galo let him drive on the way there. He pulls the keys to Galo's motorcycle from his pocket and only feels a little guilty as he darts for the parking lot. He's thinking better now, but he's no less panicked. All Lio knows is that he needs to _get away._ He needs to get somewhere safe.

He has one leg swinging over the side of Galo's motorcycle before the sound of hurried footsteps reaches him. At that point, Lio stops thinking. He jams the keys in, cranks the ignition, and goes peeling out onto the mostly-empty road without bothering to make sure that the way is clear for him.

In the rearview mirror, Lio can see Galo staring after him. It's too dark for him to make out Galo's face, but Lio knows what sort of expression would be there anyway. It probably looks a lot like the one he's wearing now: lost, hurt, conflicted.

Somehow, Lio keeps himself from turning around. _Somehow_.

* * *

Galo might be having a mental breakdown. Maybe. It's starting to feel like a distinct possibility. Because he's watching his taillights disappear around a corner, taking Lio with them, and he has to remind himself how breathing works or else he might pass out.

He doesn't understand what went wrong. Or maybe he does. Lio doesn't want to marry him. He doesn't want to marry Galo _so badly_ that he ran off in the middle of a very public event and stole Galo's motorcycle to put as much distance between them as possible.

Something heavy sinks in his chest. Maybe Galo really is as big of an idiot as everyone says he is. He thought that there was at least a pretty good chance that Lio returned his feelings. Not one-hundred-percent, sure, but Galo has a decently-sized ego, and he's not blind enough to miss some of the ways Lio has shown interest over the last year, so…

So maybe he really is just a fucking moron and Lio was never interested. And he was just doing this to help his community and Galo dropping a bombshell on him like that scared him enough that he ran off without even saying anything. He could have at least said "no," or laughed in Galo's face, or taken the ring for the cameras and then told Galo later that it didn't mean anything.

He's still clutching the ring box. Galo squeezes it hard enough that the little hinges creak in protest, and considers tossing it into the gutter, but… Something a little bit like hope coaxes Galo to put the ring back into his jacket pocket, next to the matching one that he bought for himself. He wants to punch something, but there's nothing in the parking lot except for cars and street lamps. And Galo doesn't want to swing by the hospital for breaking his hand when he should be tracking Lio down to apologize.

The heavy feeling in his chest isn't letting up, though. Galo's not good with complex emotions. He can blurt them out, sure, but solving the painful ones has always stumped him. It's why he focused so much on firefighting after he lost his parents, so he didn't have to think about their deaths. It's why, even now, Galo has a framed photo of himself and Kray tucked at the bottom of his sock drawer, next to his medal.

He knows that Lio knows about that. And Lio never questioned him, never made Galo feel shitty for it, never demanded an explanation. Lio is so _good_ , and Galo…

Galo doesn't deserve him.

He's reaching for his phone before he's even consciously aware that he's doing it. Galo takes a deep breath to steady himself and dials Aina's number. He's sure that she's going to lecture him and call him an idiot, but after that, she usually has pretty good advice. And if there's one thing that he could use right now, it's that.

The phone clicks to signify that the person on the other end has picked up, but it's not Aina's voice that he hears. " _You've reached Fex Technology Institute, Lucia Fex speaking,"_ Lucia says. " _How can I be of service, Mr. Thymos?"_

"Lucia? Why do you—?" Galo starts to ask how Lucia ended up with Aina's phone, but the answer is probably something stupid like Aina left her phone at work on accident and Lucia is going to spin it into something long-winded and pointless anyway, and Galo just really doesn't want to hear it today. "You know what, I don't care. Nevermind."

She lets out a low whistle. " _Damn, alright. I didn't want to tell you anyway."_ Galo can hear her shifting, probably getting comfortable with a piece of candy. " _So, what crawled up your ass and died? Did something happen with Lio?"_

This isn't Galo's usual channel for advice but, at this point, he'll take it. "Yes," he admits as a sigh. "I proposed, and he—"

" _You did **what**?" _Lucia shrieks so loudly that Galo pulls the phone away from his ear with a wince. He can hear her gagging on whatever candy she just choked on, but she continues speaking before she's even fully recovered, wheezing into the microphone. " _You couldn't have done that ten months ago?"_ She demands.

"What?" Is he missing something again? Galo is really starting to hate that feeling.

" _Nothing, forget it. We're talking about you."_ She waves his question off and Galo is too eager to get to the point of this call to care. " _So you proposed, huh? That's a big move. I'm guessing that he didn't take it very well — I can practically hear your lip quivering. It's okay to cry, big guy."_

Galo scrubs furiously at his eyes. He's not crying, not yet, but that's not the point. "Yeah, I proposed at our event tonight. I thought— Aina said to make a big gesture out of it, so I thought that maybe doing it while we're celebrating how far we've come together would be… romantic?" Galo tries.

Lucia hums. Galo isn't sure what experience she has with romance, but it has to be better than the _nothing_ that he has to go off of. " _Aina knew you were going to propose?"_ She asks.

Which isn't remotely the point. Galo can't keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Well, no. Not exactly. She told me to make it clear to Lio that I'm serious about wanting to commit to him, so I thought—"

" _And did you tell him that?"_ Lucia interrupts.

"Tell him what? That I want to commit to him?" He's lost. Galo doesn't know where this conversation is going anymore. "Yeah, of course, I did. That's what you say during a proposal. I think the commitment part is implied."

" _No, not that part!"_ It's an equal bet between which one of them is more annoyed now, but Lucia is certainly giving the title her best shot. " _Galo, you just proposed to the guy you've been **pretending** to date for a year now in front of a **huge crowd** and a bunch of **cameras**. Did you make it **expressly** **clear** that you were proposing to him because you **genuinely** love him and **not** just for the sake of making a big story right before the election?"_

There's a long, heavy pause.

Galo physically _feels_ when the other shoe drops. "Oh, my God." His jaw unhinges. "I'm a fucking idiot."

" _Tell me something that I don't know,"_ Lucia snarks. " _No time for self-pity, Galo! There's only one place Lio would go if he was upset and you know where it is. Now go, go, go! Run! Go get your man, you idiot!"_

He doesn't need to be told twice. Galo hangs up his phone and takes off running in the direction that Lio drove off. Lucia is right: Lio only has one safe place and Galo knows just where it is.

Gueira and Meis' apartment is four miles away. He can get there in twenty minutes if he hurries.

* * *

"So you just _left him_ like that? He _proposed_ and your response was to run out and come all the way here?" Gueira demands, standing above Lio with his hands on his hips like a disappointed dad.

" _Yes_! I've explained that three times now!" Lio throws his hands up in the air, brimming with impatience and hovering on the edge of a mental breakdown. "What do you want me to say?"

The two of them could go on screaming at each other for hours, so Meis makes an executive decision and steps in. He gestures at Gueira to quiet down and, sitting on the couch next to Lio, Meis sets a hand on his shoulder. "Boss. I mean this in the nicest way possible, so don't be angry, but…" He takes a deep breath. "Are you stupid?"

" _Excuse me_?" Lio has the _audacity_ to be offended. "I'm not going to marry him! He's only proposing to me because it looks good to do this right before an election. I told you two already, I'd only marry him if he meant it genuinely!"

Gueira looks about three seconds from ripping his hair out. "Okay, fantastic! Why are you telling _us_ that when you should be telling _him_ that?" He demands.

Whatever the perfectly-reasonable-and-not-at-all-paranoid answer to that question is, it never gets voiced. A knock at the apartment's door interrupts them, although calling it a "knock" is doing it a disservice. The force of the pounding being delivered damn near rips the door off of its hinges.

_"Lio?"_ Galo's voice comes through muffled, and Lio pales. As if it would be _literally anyone else_ at this time of night. _"I know you're in there! Please, I just want to talk. I didn't mean to upset you."_

It's the genuineness in Galo's voice that has Meis reassured that this whole shit show is going to turn out fine. Banging two rocks together will produce a spark _eventually_ , right?

"If you open that door," Lio warns Meis, "I will set you on fire."

It's an empty threat — Meis sets himself on fire for _fun_ at least semi-regularly and Gueira isn't any better.

So it's not a hard choice. Meis gets up to answer the door for Galo, despite Lio frantically urging him not to. He stops with his hand on the doorknob, turning to look over his shoulder at Lio, and frowns when he sees only Gueira, still standing next to the couch. Then Gueira points, exasperated, toward the open window.

"Boss." Meis' voice stops Lio with one leg already out the window, straddling the edge. Lio turns to face him at the sound of his nickname and Meis swallows a long-suffering sigh. "You aren't Burnish anymore." He's met with a blank stare. "We're on the fifth floor." Still nothing. Meis clenches his teeth. "You're going to get hurt if you drop from this height."

Lio narrows his eyes in a challenge. "Then call an ambulance," he says, swinging his other leg over the side.

_Thankfully_ , Gueira tackles him to the ground before Lio can drop, and the two of them squabble on the floor while Meis opens the door.

As soon as he does, Galo has to physically stop himself from running Meis over in his haste to enter the apartment. "Hey, Meis." Galo smiles and at least attempts to be polite as he cranes his next to look into the apartment over Meis' shoulder. "Is Lio here? We had a fight, and— I really just want to apologize, honest. Please don't kill me."

"Oh, you'd better do more than just apologize," Meis mutters to himself. He cannot handle even another _hour_ of watching these two _not_ date. To Galo, he loudly answers, "Yes, Lio is right over there. And Gueira and I were just leaving."

From where his face is buried in the carpet, Lio pinning him face-down from behind, Gueira makes a muffled noise of confusion. At that point, though, Lio is frozen from seeing Galo in the threshold so he doesn't fight back when Meis strolls over and drags Gueira to his feet by his jacket.

"Yep, we were heading out. We have plans far, far away from here," Meis continues in the same loud, calm voice from before. He leads Gueira to the front door. "Don't touch any of the beer in the fridge, there are condoms in every drawer, lock up when you're done!"

All Lio can manage before the door shuts behind them is, "You'd better hide your lighters before you go to sleep tonight."

And then he's alone with Galo and the apartment is far, far too silent and awkward. Lio is going to fucking wring their necks. The window still looks _tempting_. And he's willing to bet that he can be halfway to a nasty splatter before Galo crosses the room.

But, no. That's the cowards' way out. And Lio Fotia is not a coward, no matter how much he would love to be one at the moment. (He is scared, though. Lio is self-respecting enough to admit that he is very, _very_ scared.) He sighs. Draws himself up to his full height. Says in a voice that leaves no room for argument, "I think that we need to talk about our relationship."

At the same time, Galo blurts out, "I don't think I was clear enough about what I want from our relationship."

They both stare at each other as the silence returns. Lio supposes that he should be a little relieved that they both want to talk about their relationship, but it's not much comfort. It's going to hurt, but he knows that he needs to break up with Galo. He can't do this anymore. It's too much pressure, too much yearning, too much driving-himself-batshit-insane.

Everything is just too much, and yet it's never felt so empty between them.

Galo gives him a dry smile and it aches. "I wish I was still in your head," he says quietly. "Everything was so much easier when we were one person. Now you're separate, and…" Galo gestures at the distance between them. It's only a few feet, really, but it feels more like a chasm. "Tell me what you're thinking," he pleads, a little desperately. "I honestly have no clue, Lio."

At least that's one thing that they have in common. Lio feels like he's coming undone, like he's falling apart at the seams. He fell in love with Galo when they formed the Galo de Lion, and only because it had been so _easy_. It had felt like Lio would never need to worry about anything ever again. He doesn't know what to do with all of these feelings, threatening to bubble over and choke him, now that Galo isn't in his head to bear half of the weight.

"I can't keep faking a relationship anymore, Galo," Lio admits. It feels good to put it out there, in some ways. Worse in others, because a fake relationship is all they have and he's cutting it off.

"Oh." Galo looks relieved. It shouldn't hurt as much as it does. What was Lio expecting, a fight? "Is that all? I'm glad to hear that, Lio, I— I don't want to keep faking things, either." And he reaches into his jacket pocket again.

"Galo," Lio says his name weakly as the distance between them closes. He's not sure if he's about to laugh or cry. He can barely hear over the way his heart is pounding. "What are you doing?"

It should be obvious, but for some reason, Lio's thoughts keep tripping. Like he just _can't_ understand, even as Galo presses the ring box into his hands. "I talked to Lucia after you ran out. She told me that I probably wasn't being clear enough." He's not looking at Lio, which is unfortunate because Lio has never wanted to see Galo's eyes more. "I wasn't trying to do that for the cameras. Sorry, it probably seemed that way, but I just wanted to make it a spectacle because proposals are supposed to be memorable and Aina suggested making a big show out of it, and I…" When Lio doesn't move to open the box, Galo does it for him, cupping Lio's hands with his own while the silver band glints innocently at him. "But I was trying to propose _for real_ because I really love you. Like, a lot. I think more than I've ever loved anyone or anything."

_Oh_. "Oh," Lio says eloquently. He's trembling and, yeah, he's definitely about to cry. His voice breaks. "And you couldn't have said that months and months ago, you idiot?"

Galo lets out a startled laugh, and oh no, there are tears in his eyes, too. This isn't going to end well. "You didn't say anything, either, idiot! I thought you ran out because you didn't want to get married at all!" He says. He lifts one hand to cup Lio's cheek, brushing away at tears that haven't begun to fall yet. "So...?" Galo asks softly.

"Oh, my God." Lio takes the ring out of the box and holds it up to try and read the swirling inscription. "What does it say?"

He hasn't said yes or no yet. A part of Lio thinks it's stupid to get engaged to a guy that he hasn't even really been dating, but a bigger part of him doesn't care. They've merged their souls. Lio thinks that marriage is actually a step down, in terms of intimacy.

"That? Oh, um…" Galo rubs the back of his head, murmuring something that Lio doesn't catch.

He presses the ring against the tip of his finger, teasing about slipping it on. "What was that?" Lio asks, his tone light. He blinks and a tear slips out. His smile is trembling.

"It says, " _through spark and flame,"_ okay?" Galo admits, his face turning pink. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a second ring, without a box. It's bronze instead of silver and noticeably bigger, to fit Galo's finger. "Mine matches. I just thought that it— I mean, I know I'm not very romantic, but I thought that moment meant something between us. I can change it if you want," he offers in a very uncharacteristically self-conscious way.

It does _something_ to Lio, twisting his stomach and heart together and reminding him sharply that Meis said there are condoms all over the apartment. He slips the ring on instead and it fits despite his gloves being in the way. It feels like clicking the final puzzle piece into place. "Galo," Lio says, and Galo goes absolutely rigid. "It's everything I could ever want from you."

He closes the last few inches between them to pull Galo down into a kiss. Lio has done that before, plenty of times by now, but it's different this time. Galo kisses him back hungrily, both of them pressing closer as if they can sink through clothes and skin to meld their hearts and minds together again. They can't, but that doesn't mean Lio doesn't give it his best shot.

He pulls back a little to speak, fumbling with the hand that Galo has on his waist to slip his ring on, too. "Since we learned something important about communication today, I think I should make it clear that my answer is yes," Lio says fondly. He's not sobbing, but tears are falling. He's not the only one. It makes the kiss somewhat salty, but it's going to take more than that to keep him off of Galo after how long he's had to wait.

"That's good." Galo sighs with relief, shoulders slumping. He flexes his left hand, admiring the ring on his finger. He considers something. "After the way we took off, people are probably going to think that we broke up."

Lio shrugs, hauling Galo against him again by the lapels of his suit. "So?" He shoots back.

The tears haven't stopped, but the smile that Galo gives him is the happiest that Lio has seen from him in a long time. "Yeah," he says, dopily. "Good point." And he slides one hand into Lio's hair, cradling his skull like he's something precious, and leans in again.

It's not until several minutes later, when Lio has his hands shoved under Galo's suit jacket and they are both noticeably less buttoned-up than when they began, that Lio speaks again. He pulls back, frowning thoughtfully. "Galo…" Now that his hands are free to wander, it's hard to miss. Galo is damp with sweat beneath his formal wear. "Did you run all the way here from the conference hall?" Lio asks, incredulous and so fond that it makes his chest ache.

Galo colors with embarrassment. "Well— What was I supposed to do?" He demands. "You stole my bike after you practically ran out crying, and I thought you were going to do something stupid like convince Gueira and Meis to smuggle you out of the country. Besides, I like running! I have good stamina!"

That sends another vicious thrill through Lio and he decides immediately that Gueira and Meis' apartment is not at all the right location for this evening. "I love you," he says because he never said it back earlier. Lio takes Galo by the hand and leads him to the door.

"Okay?" Galo sounds happy but curious. "I love you, too. Where are we going?"

"Your place," replies Lio without an ounce of hesitation. "I want to make up for running out on you like that. And I think we should start with getting you out of that suit."

"What's wrong with this suit? It's brand new. Is it—" Galo stops walking as realization dawns, which is fine because Lio is busy opening the apartment door, shoving Galo outside and locking it behind them. "Oh. You want to do _that_?" He asks. The enthusiasm in his tone is enough for Lio to forgive the childish phrasing.

"Yes," he sighs. Galo has no idea how tightly Lio is wrapped around his finger, does he? " _That_. You can say no if you're not comfortable with it."

"I didn't say that," Galo says with false innocence as he makes his way to the stairs. "You still have the keys to my bike?"

Lio pats his pocket to double-check. "Yes."

"Great. You drive."

"Really?" He raises an eyebrow. "You hate it when I drive," Lio reminds him. Galo has been known to describe Lio's driving with words like, " _no respect for the laws of physics"_ and " _complete disregard for all traffic laws"_ and " _absolutely going to get us arrested one day."_ The first time that Lio drove them somewhere, Galo had to spend ten minutes hunched over and dry heaving into a toilet before he was composed again.

"Maybe," Galo admits, "but you're faster."

Another little " _oh"_ moment dawns on Lio and he smirks. Galo's apartment is on the other side of the city. "I can have us there in five minutes," Lio assures him.

He's never seen Galo look so excited or so terrified before, and he doesn't think that it's because of who's going to be driving. Lio doesn't blame him: the feeling is very much mutual. But if he can handle living on the run for years, toppling a government, and saving the world, then Lio can learn to handle being in love.

* * *

Galo stirs the next morning gradually. He feels a little sore in a lot of places, which is what he gets for doing all of that running without stretching first. And the other "activities" that he enjoyed with Lio once he got home, of course. Not that Lio had been shy about utilizing copious amounts of stretching in the sanctity of their bedroom.

_Their_ bedroom. Wow.

Speaking of Lio, though…

He lifts the covers with a fond little smile on his face, looking down at Lio curled against him. He's still fast asleep, which is honestly adorable. The face that Lio makes when he's sleeping is in Galo's top ten for "Favorite Lio Expressions." There's still a veil of disbelief that's clinging to their embrace. Like it's not real. Like Galo is about to wake up and he'll be alone in bed again and Lio will be avoiding him after that disastrous attempt at a proposal.

But, no. The bronze ring is still on his finger and Galo admires it in the morning sun coming through his window. The whole thing feels so picturesque. So domestic. He almost can't believe that he deserves to feel as happy as he does in that moment, enjoying a lazy morning in bed with Lio and living in an apartment that they decorated together.

He hopes that this means Lio will officially move in, now. It's probably stupid to be excited about buying matching towel sets, and getting bills with both their names on them, and bickering over whether it's important or not to preheat the oven. But Galo is excited for all of those things. He wants everything that Lio is willing to give him, forever and ever, until the day they die.

At his side, Lio shifts and nuzzles his face against Galo's bare chest. He's wearing his ring on a thin chain around his neck (improvised after it went flying off his hand last night when Lio removed his glove with his teeth) and it jingles softly when he moves. "Why'd you pick silver and bronze?" Lio asks sleepily, the words a little slurred.

Galo looks down at him and can't help the smile creeping across his face. "Sorry. Did I wake you up?"

Lio thumps him weakly on the chest. That area is still a little bruised and marked up, but the fact that Lio remembers to be gentle while he's still half-asleep is making Galo's heart do flips. "No, 'course not. 'Ve been awake for… hours." Lio muffles a yawn. He's yet to open his eyes, content to bury his face between Galo's pecs. "Now answer the question."

He almost points out that Lio probably won't remember this conversation if he goes back to sleep, but thinks better of it. "I got silver for you because it's elegant and it reminded me of your confidence," Galo answers. "Gold seemed too gaudy for you. And I got bronze for me because it reminds me of the aftermath of a fire. Y'know, when things are still hot and smoldering and everything looks a little singed, but… You know that it's going to be okay."

There's a lull, then Lio slowly pushes himself up. He brushes his mused hair out of the way and rubs the sleep from his eyes. He looks gorgeous. "That's really thoughtful of you," Lio murmurs. Not like he's surprised, just like he's stating a fact. Galo's chest swells with affection. "They were good choices. Thank you." He bends over to give Galo a quick kiss. "What do you wanna do for breakfast?"

Before he answers, Galo leans up and kisses Lio again. Just because he can. The thought that now he gets to kiss Lio whenever he wants and as much as he wants is just too good for him to believe. He wants to keep reminding himself that it's okay now.

"I know a good place for breakfast near Burning Rescue HQ," Galo offers. He doesn't want to cook this morning. He wants to go order a mountain of pancakes and get whipped cream on Lio's face until they break out into a food war that inevitably gets them kicked out of the establishment. And then maybe kiss Lio again.

Lio makes a noise of disbelief. "And you don't think there's going to be paparazzi waiting outside after the shit show we put on last night?"

"Maybe." Galo shrugs and sits up, much as he'd like to lay in bed with Lio all day. He has the evening shift at work, which is good because he didn't set an alarm for it. "I have hats and sunglasses that we can wear and we'll go out the fire escape. And if that doesn't work, you can drive," he offers. Galo has yet to meet a person that can keep pace with Lio's driving. Those bulky news vans don't stand a chance.

There's a moment where Lio pretends to think about it, but then he nods. "Alright," he agrees. And he kisses Galo one more time before sliding out of bed. "It's a good thing that we showered last night. I don't have the patience for it right now."

Galo has to agree, even though he thinks that a warm shower would help with the soreness — and be an excuse to see Lio naked some more. He gets up as well and can't help but stare while Lio digs for a change of clothes in his designated drawer.

When he notices Galo staring, Lio quirks an eyebrow. "What? Didn't you get an eyeful last night?" He teases, hip cocked in a way that shouldn't be as distracting as it is.

The first feeling is embarrassment. It only lasts a second as Galo reminds himself that it's okay for him to look now. "I could stare at you for hours," he says honestly. Not in a sexual way, either — Galo just thinks that Lio is really, really beautiful. "You know how people stare at those famous paintings like they want to memorize every last paint splatter? I think you're like a work of art."

He's not sure why, but the comment makes Lio's face turn red. Which is fine — he's cute when he's blushing. And when he's angry and annoyed and confused, and _fuck_ , Lio is even pretty when he cries, though Galo wishes that he wouldn't.

Lio ends up tossing one of Galo's shirts in his direction. "Get dressed," he says once he recovers. "There's plenty of time for being sappy when I'm not hungry."

So Galo gets dressed, this time without staring at Lio. The fire escape attaches to the side of the building, going out Galo's living room window. He lets Lio go first, snatching up his wallet and keys before following. They're both wearing baseball hats with the brims pulled low and a pair of bulky sunglasses — one of which Aina got for Galo as a gag gift, and the other she forgot at his apartment the other week.

Once on the ground floor, they check to be sure that there's paparazzi out front before sneaking out the back alley. Creeping around dumpsters isn't super romantic, but they get to Galo's motorcycle in the back without incident.

The way Galo sees it, the paparazzi will die down once they let someone get a few pictures of himself and Lio wearing rings. But more importantly, he's going to go get pancakes with his fiancé.

The word "fiancé" has Galo swooning as he clamors onto the motorcycle and settles down behind Lio. Not even Lio driving thirty miles over the speed limit wipes away his smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Piece of trivia for you: Aina has her Mad Burnish contacts listed by the amount of bastard energy they radiate. Meis is Bastard #3. If Lio had a phone, he'd be Bastard #1. No one gives him enough credit for how chaotic he is.
> 
> I could have dragged this relationship shit out longer, but I know you guys don't want a story where the main characters get together at the very end — because now we get a whole chapter of these two being sweet to each other. See you in a week for the last chapter!


	6. Thank You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't supposed to be a very long chapter but, uh, then some things happened and I forgot that this was supposed to be a funny fic… Anyway, enjoy.
> 
> As usual, the playlist is [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZbILQYfUUYRVedCXMdCEz?si=d-A0i6G4RU6YHzfgayyx6A). This last chapter encompasses _Something I Need_ by OneRepublic to _I Wouldn’t Mind_ by He Is We. An honorable mention is _Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears_ by Pierce the Veil.

They're all gathered wearing party hats like it's New Year's Eve instead of election night. Lio's never been so excited for something lawful before, even though the idea of democracy is a joke in Promepolis. Normally, he would be more cynical about their chances, but Galo's hope must be contagious because Lio finds himself banishing those nasty thoughts.

Not tonight. In the morning, when he's had time to think about what will inevitably go wrong, then maybe. But tonight is about Galo and Lio wants to celebrate.

They're at Burning Rescue HQ with everyone, since no one's apartment is big enough to comfortably fit nine people. Lucia's computer is displaying a map of Promepolis, broken down into its counties. While they slowly light up with voting results as the night wears on, they all get drunk around it.

Lio never used to be a lightweight, but alcohol never had much of an effect on him before, anyway. He's two bottles deep into some cheap beer and already feeling a little too buzzed. Galo isn't doing much better, face flushed and leaning against Lio heavily for support. Or he's just pretending to be more wasted than he actually is so that no one can call him out on acting like personal space is a suggestion.

Not that Lio minds, but Galo doesn't need to know that. They need to _pretend_ to have some sense of shame in public, after all.

There's some shitty electronic music playing over the speakers that Lio's pretty sure are supposed to only be used for the emergency alarm. Actually, he thinks that Remi and Varys are currently on duty, but they're dancing with Aina and Gueira in the middle of the empty garage while Lucia throws candy at them. Meis, standing next to her, manages to snatch a piece of candy from her just as it leaves her fingers. Lucia is, naturally, appalled.

Galo and Lio are sitting on the couch, watching the chaos unfold as Aina comes over to break up the ensuing fight and Gueira cheers Meis on. Lio chuckles and finishes his third bottle before deciding that he's had enough for the night. He plucks the half-finished one from Galo's hands too, setting them aside.

"How you feelin'?" He murmurs, cupping Galo's face and tracing the lines of his jaw.

He hums, tilting his head to lean into the strokes of Lio's fingers. Kind of difficult with Lio's hands on both sides of his face — it ends up giving Galo a bobble-head like movement and Lio grins. "D'you mean… in general or, like… about the election?" Galo gestures loosely over his shoulder, at the computer screen.

For a moment, Lio's smile thins. The results should well be in by now, but several counties are "inconclusive" or still in the process of counting votes. Which doesn't make any sense. They've been done before midnight easily in years past, but this year is an exception for some reason.

Lio has a pretty good idea of why, but he shoves the thought away. Not tonight. In the morning, he'll be as bitter as pure cocoa, but tonight… He presses a kiss to Galo's cheek, trailing up to his temple and his forehead. "In general," Lio specifies. "I wanna know if you can stay upright on the drive home."

"Drive?" Galo makes a face. "Gimme the keys… You're too fuckin' drunk to drive." He pats down Lio's sides and his pockets, apparently feeling for the keys to his motorcycle, but just ends up putting his hands on Lio's ass. And that is enough to distract Galo thoroughly, because his hands stay right there as he tries to press a kiss to Lio's neck without much success. His coordination is shot and he just ends up getting hair in his mouth for his efforts.

"Hey." A voice interrupts them, getting Galo to lift his head but not to add any space between the two of them. Ignis looks down at them, unamused. He's probably had more to drink than anyone else, but he doesn't seem drunk at all. Lio is impressed — and maybe a little bit intimidated. "Galo, get those hands above the waistline. Save it for your own place, not my headquarters."

Galo sticks his tongue out and pouts for a moment before obeying and dragging his hands back up to a respectable position on Lio's hips. "Whatever you say, Dad," he says without sarcasm. Maybe he forgot how to inflect emotion into his words or maybe that was a Freudian slip. Either way, no one mentions it.

"Sorry about that, Captain," Lio says with false innocence. He hasn't moved his hands from Galo's face and Lio fully intends to resume kissing as soon as Ignis turns his back. And their friends thought that they were bad when they were _pretending_ to date.

Ignis just sighs. He pulls an envelope out of his jacket and hands it to Lio. "I wanted to give this to you two. In hindsight, I should have done it when you were sober, but I think we're about to start wrapping up the festivities." He sends a glare toward the inconclusive map on screen and Lio gets the feeling that he and Ignis are on the same page.

Oblivious, Galo takes the envelope and scrutinizes both sides. "There's no address on it," he announces, like he's making a breakthrough of some kind.

It's really tempting to just start kissing him, Ignis be damned, but Lio finds the self-control to snatch the envelope away instead. It's unmarked, like Galo said, and feels weirdly heavy. Lio frowns. He opens it and, as he expected, pulls out a sizable wad of cash.

"What's this for?" He asks Ignis, a little lost. Lio doesn't need charity. He knows that it's not one of the paychecks that Ignis keeps sneaking to him — it's not payday. If it's a bribe to finally sign up with Burning Rescue, then Lio might just accept this time. He's starting to forget why joining was a bad idea in the first place.

But it's apparently not a bribe. Ignis sighs and jerks his thumb over his shoulder, at the brawl that's broken out. It's hard to tell who's fighting and who's trying to break it up now. "These chucklefucks had a bet going for when you two would get together. I won, so…" He gestures with one hand. "The money's yours. Congratulations. Treat each other right, you hear me?"

Lio smiles. It looks like Galo might burst into tears. "We will," Lio promises, putting the money back in the envelope and tucking it away.

While Ignis goes to break up the fight, Lio turns to his fiancé. It's such a pretty word — almost as good as "husband." If they both weren't drunk and in public, Lio would be showing Galo just how much he appreciates it.

"Well?" He nudges Galo with his hip. "Are you ready to go? I don't want to stay the night here. The last time we did, my back was in knots for a week."

Galo frowns. "It'll make your back stronger over time," he argues. "Like Muay Thai fighters and banana trees."

Whatever that means, Lio isn't convinced. He stands up and pulls the keys out of his pocket, jiggling it pointedly in front of Galo's face. Galo just blinks, like he can't process what he's looking at. "And how are you gonna stop me?" Lio asks teasingly.

"I bet I can figure out a way," Galo shoots back. He leans forward, grabbing Lio's wrists and tugging him forward to sit on Galo's lap. It's not much of a distraction for anyone except Galo, who kisses him hard while his hands settle on Lio's hips and drift lower.

"What did I say about staying above the waist?" Ignis' voice snaps at them from across the room. He is promptly ignored. "Lucia, dammit, _stop biting people_!"

* * *

The news anchor is talking about allegations of ballot stuffing. Galo has to look up the definition of that and he's pretty proud of himself when the internet confirms that he was right about the general idea already. So people think that the election for governor was rigged and fake votes were counted. Galo's not sure what he thinks about it, but he's sort of surprised that he was popular enough for cheating to be _necessary_. If that is what happened, anyway. There's nothing proven yet.

Lio comes out of the kitchen with two bowls of cereal in his hand, dressed uncaringly in loose pants and one of Galo's smallest shirts. He's still nursing a hangover from the night before, so he haphazardly shoves the bowl into Galo's hands, milk spilling down the side, and sits on the couch with his legs folded under him as he tucks himself into Galo's side.

"Bunch of useless motherfuckers…" Lio murmurs. It probably would have been more scathing if he didn't say it around a mouthful of Fruit Loops. "I can't believe this. I bet the higher-ups will ignore these allegations and just let Miranda keep being the Governess. And nothing will change." He glares at the TV with so much heat that Galo is almost concerned that the news anchor can feel it.

"It'll work itself out," Galo says. He takes a bite of his cereal just to have something to do with his hands. It's tasteless. "I mean, they had Kray's trial, didn't they? I think they're worried about the public's reaction if they don't take this stuff seriously."

"Or at least pretend to," Lio corrects him bitterly. His next bite sounds painful. "I bet Kray's trial is going to end with some minor jail time. A slap on the wrist for that bastard. Least those officials could do after he lined their pockets and did all of their work for them for so many years."

It sounds like Lio is about to start shouting, so Galo turns off the TV. "Hey," he says softly, leaning down to press a kiss behind Lio's ear. "It's okay. If they cheated, then we'll do something about it. And if they didn't cheat, then it says a lot that it was this close, huh?"

Lio snorts. "Not close enough." But he's still leaning into Galo, so he can't be that upset. "If they're paying attention to public opinion, then maybe a riot would get their heads out of their asses."

Galo nudges him with his elbow, frowning. "You're not planning a riot, are you?" He asks. That would be bad. He's pretty sure that property damage and looting wouldn't put their campaign in a favorable light. And more importantly, it would do more damage to a community that they're still trying to rebuild.

"And why shouldn't I? We're never going to win playing by their rules," Lio snaps. He's just talking to get the anger out, Galo knows. He doesn't really mean any of what he's saying. "The people in power will keep themselves there and they'll keep you out, Galo. By any means necessary. The fact that they're cheating, undermining the people's will, proves as much. This is just about control."

"So let them," Galo says. He pumps his fist in determination, ignores how the movement jostles his cereal and spills milk onto his hand. "I'll keep running, as many times as I have to. We'll try again and again and again, Lio, until we get it right. We'll make a difference. It doesn't matter how many times they beat us down. We can handle it."

To his relief, that gets a smile out of Lio. "After all these years, I suppose that I should be used to it," he mutters.

Galo's smile slips. "We're fighters, Lio. That's why our souls go so well together — we have infernos for hearts. But you're not going to have to fight forever, okay? We'll win. Maybe not today, but we've come too far for there to be any other outcome." He pushes Lio's bangs back and presses a kiss to his forehead. "I promise."

The laugh that Lio makes is purely reflexive. So is the way that he reaches up to grab the engagement ring hanging around his neck. "You're such a sap," he says fondly. Then he closes the distance between Galo and kisses him, and it's sweet and soft and he never wants to pull away.

They end up needing to forgo the cereal for a proper breakfast — by the time they break apart, it's soggy.

* * *

"It fits okay?" Galo tugs on the hem of Lio's jacket critically, eyeing him as he continues to circle. "Not too tight around the chest or arms? That can be a serious problem in the field, you know. Getting gear that fits properly is no joke."

Lio bats his hands away, exasperated. " _Yes_ , Galo for the _twentieth time_ , everything fits correctly. Remi's measurements were very thorough."

He eyes himself in the mirror in Burning Rescue's showers, making a face. It's not a bad fit, he has to admit. And the red isn't as gaudy as he thought it would be, at least if he cuts it with his usual leather pants instead of the just-as-ugly parachute pair that Galo tried to talk him into. Lio cranes until he can see the bright yellow number three on the back of the jacket. He huffs out a laugh through his nose.

"Honestly… The leader of Mad Burnish, a firefighter? I must be crazy," he tells himself, not for the first time.

The smile that Galo gives him in the mirror is soft and it's making Lio's chest do flips. "I think we're both a little crazy," Galo says, looking at Lio approvingly. "It looks good on you. But I think I like it when you wear my jacket better."

This time, Lio lets himself laugh out loud. "I think I prefer that, too. If I'm going to be working here, though, I'd better get used to it."

The reminder makes Galo's smile tight at the edges. For all the hounding Lio had gotten from the rest of Burning Rescue over the last year, Galo never once pressed Lio about becoming a firefighter. The job is sort of nice, actually. Like another anchor for Lio to dig into the sand. To ground himself, to give his life purpose. He's the figurehead for the former Burnish, and his job is to fight as long as he has to for equal treatment. He's a member of Burning Rescue, and his job is to help rebuild and protect the people. He's Galo's fiancé, and his job is to be there for Galo and help him find happiness.

New pieces of his identity. New badges of honor. Still the same old Lio. He brushes his hair out of his face, staring at himself in the mirror. Lio smiles at his reflection and it feels reassuring. He's glad to say that he can still recognize the person in the mirror. It hasn't been easy, but he's living a life that he's proud of. That's more than a lot of people can say.

Galo wraps his arms around Lio's waist from behind, tucking his chin down against the top of Lio's head. Lio sets his hands over Galo's, tilting his head back to press a kiss along the curve of Galo's jaw. "What are you thinking about?" Lio murmurs, tangling their fingers together.

"Oh, just…" Galo shrugs. "The future, I guess. I don't know how this election stuff is going to turn out since they started doing that recount, and you… You're going to be a firefighter. If I become governor, I can't work at Burning Rescue anymore. I won't be able to be there for you."

Once upon a time, Lio might have thought that Galo didn't have faith in his abilities. But he knows what this is about. No matter how capable he is, there's always going to be that lingering doubt, that fear. That traitorous thought: " _what if?"_

' _What if this time he's not fast enough?'_

' _What if I'm not there the one time that he needs me?'_

' _What if this conversation is our last?'_

Lio gets thoughts like that all the time. Not even when Galo is out on a call, although that certainly makes the anxiety spike. He thinks about "what if"s when Galo is just going to the store because there could be a driver not paying attention. Galo goes to a rally and Lio worries that maybe the counter-protesters will be a little too violent, strike a little too close to the vitals, the ambulance will be a little too slow. Hell, controversial political figures get assassinated all the time. It's not unheard of.

Mortality has always been a part of Lio's life, but it's different now. He would have been willing to die as a martyr, once. If he thought that his sacrifice would change anything. But things are different when you have someone that you want to live for. Ideas and beliefs will live on without Lio. He's not sure what Galo would do without him, or what he would do without Galo. Lio's terrified that, one day, he'll have to find out.

He hums, giving Galo another kiss on the cheek while he twists Lio's necklace between his fingers. "I can't promise not to put myself in harm's way. But, Galo… I need you to trust that I'll do whatever I can to always come back to you. There's nowhere I'd rather be," Lio assures him.

It's not easy. It never is, being this open. It helps that Lio doesn't have to look Galo in the eyes from this position. But he's trying. He wants to be honest with Galo, because if things really do go to hell and they never see each other again, Lio doesn't want to be thinking about all the things he never said. He doesn't want to leave Galo with any doubts about just how much this relationship means to him.

Galo smiles against the crown of his head. "I know. And I know you can handle yourself. You'll be great, Firebug."

He scoffs. Lio swats Galo on the arm for that. "What did we say about that nickname?" He chastises.

"I can call you by your full name instead, _Deucalion_ ," Galo teases with a sing-song lilt to his words.

Lio stiffens in his arms. "Shit. Gueira told you, didn't he?"

"Maybe," Galo says with an innocent voice that Lio doesn't believe for a fucking second. "If you don't like my nicknames, I bet that the rest of Burning Rescue'll get a kick out of hearing that bit of Lio trivia."

There's tension in the air as Lio turns around to glare at Galo directly. "You wouldn't," he says lowly. It's not a threat: it's a promise.

But for all of Lio's bravado, Galo has never been someone to back away from him. He leans into the challenge instead, hands on his hips and wearing a cocky smirk that makes Lio want to drag him down and kiss it away. "Oh, but I _would_ ," he shoots back.

The only reason that Lio doesn't jump him then and there, public indecency be damned, is that the door to the showers is suddenly thrown open with a deafening _bang_.

"Boss!" Gueira charges in with no regard for whatever he might have been interrupting. The loud noise has put some distance between Lio and Galo, but not much. "Boss, have you heard the news yet? Shit just hit the fan for our good friend, the governess!"

The annoyance that Lio was feeling washes away. "No, I haven't. What happened?" He tries to look calm but, internally, Lio is daring to feel optimistic. He glances at Galo out of the corner of his eye. _Is this it…?_

Meis saunters in much more casually than Gueira did, but his grin is no less enthusiastic. "Seems that someone broke into her office last night and stole her laptop. They dug up a bunch of emails and other files that point to her trying to rig the vote along with a bunch of other high-ranking officials. She got arrested seven minutes ago." He turns to Galo and gives a mock two-fingered salute. "Congrats… Governor Thymos."

Galo looks like he's forgotten how to breathe. "I… won?" He mutters. Lio's a bit concerned that he might faint.

Unable to contain himself, Gueira launches himself at Galo and wraps him in a hug. "You won, big guy! The results of the recount came back and you won there, too. You're in! I never doubted you for a second!" He whoops with laughter.

That finally makes it click. Galo smiles hesitantly. "I won. Oh my God." He hugs Gueira back with a breathless laugh. "Lio! We won!"

It doesn't hurt to smile. Lio's been doing it so frequently lately that he thinks his face is finally getting used to it. He laughs and feels lightheaded. "You did it. Jesus Christ. I love you so much." He gets dragged into the hug, taking Meis with him. Then the four of them are crowding around each other, vying for space.

Lio ends up with his head against Galo's chest and his arms around Gueira and Meis. He gives a faint squeeze and wishes that he was big enough to wrap all three of them in his arms.

He's not sure how long they stay like that. A few minutes, maybe. Lio knows that they have to part eventually, because Burning Rescue is going to want to hear and they're definitely going to start crying and initiate a group hug of their own, but… Lio just sort of wants to enjoy this while he can. He loves Burning Rescue like family, but there's a special place in his heart for Gueira and Meis. For giving him their trust and the chance to make his dream a reality, all that time ago. And Galo… Fuck, Lio can't even begin to quantify how deep his adoration runs. It should scare him, but it doesn't.

It's okay to have attachments. Galo isn't going anywhere: not if he can help it, anyway.

"We're certainly very lucky," Lio says with faint humor, "that this "mysterious" thief who stole the laptop didn't leak any information about the former Governess' involvement in fabricating a fake relationship between Galo and myself."

Galo hums noncommittally, clearly not really listening. In contrast, Gueira turns his head to hide the way that his smile widens and Meis huffs out a laugh. "Lucia did most of the hard work with the firewalls," he whispers to Lio. "I've been picking locks since I could crawl."

He hugs them both tighter, somehow. Lio's emotions feel stuck in his throat, but he manages to whisper, " _Thank you_." It feels too good to be true. Lio might be crying. But for that one moment, wrapped up with the most important people in his life, everything is perfect.

Almost.

Because then Galo shifts. His smile falls and his arms go slack. "I guess," he mutters, "that only leaves one thing left to do."

* * *

It's Galo's first visit, and his last. After his initial testimony, Galo was so uninvolved with the trial that he hadn't even realized that it was concluding soon.

And now the decision is final. Kray Foresight was sentenced to death by his jury.

It doesn't feel real. It's almost like Galo is going to wake up any minute, and he'll be late for a shift and Mad Burnish will still be terrorists and Kray will still be standing at the top of the world. Even after everything, it all feels too easy.

From the point of view of a child, Kray has always been larger than life. A cutting figure, inspiring, intimidating, strong, reassuring… He's still big to Galo, now, but there's something else.

He's tainted. The image of Kray Foresight, Promepolis' hero, is tarnished. The Kray who sits in front of Galo now, wrist chained to the table so he doesn't try anything, is far from a heroic visage. He looks tired. Dirty. Vulnerable. Human.

He's not Superman. He's a person. A person who did horrible things, granted, but the realization still hurts. It hits Galo sharply.

In the end, sitting across from Kray in a room empty except for a bolted-down table and two chairs, Galo is the first one to speak. "I didn't want you to get the death penalty," he says. He's not sure why. He's pretty sure that Kray doesn't care what he wants, even if it is the truth.

The smile Kray gives him is an empty gesture, void of emotion. "The Governor can issue pardons, Galo. Not that I would expect you to know that. You can sentence me to rot in a cell somewhere far away if you would prefer that."

Galo does know that, actually. He used his influence to get Heris a ten-year sentence, with potential for parole. She did terrible things too, but Heris did everything she could afterward to make up for it. Lio agreed that the punishment was fair. She'll serve time for her mistakes, but she doesn't deserve to throw her whole life away for something that she regrets with every fiber of her being.

He wonders if that's justice or if he's just letting his emotions get the better of him again. Galo thinks of the way Aina had sobbed when he gave her the good news, how desperately she and Heris clutched each other when they were finally allowed to visit in person, and decides that "justice" can go fuck itself.

To Kray, what he says is, "No. The jury convicted you. It doesn't matter what I want: the people you hurt have spoken." Or, well, Lio's theory is that those in power are using Kray as a scapegoat, killing him to sweep everything under the rug and get the populace to move on. The thought makes Galo ill. He doesn't want Kray dead, and especially not as a political tool.

Kray chuckles, as at home in that cheap metal chair as he would be on a throne. Even with his hair greasy, his clothes ill-fitted, and not a dime or a scrap of respect to his name. In defeat, Kray is dignified — completely unlike the way Governess Miranda screeched and hollered as she was dragged into a cop car.

"I'm glad we finally agree on something, Galo," Kray says mildly. "It doesn't matter what you want. It never did."

And that stings. It probably shouldn't. Galo knows he ought to be used to it.

He doesn't look away, as much as he wants to. "Looking back… You always said such nice things to me." Galo huffs. "It's sort of amazing that I didn't notice the disdain on your face when you looked at me. I'm not sure if you're just an amazing actor or if I'm really that stupid."

"I don't see why only one of those things can be true," Kray offers. And it's almost light. It's almost _amicable_.

This is the closest that they've ever been to speaking on equal ground, Galo realizes. Kray isn't powerful anymore and Galo isn't a child. It's a bitter sort of realization.

This time, he does look away. It's becoming too much to keep staring at Kray. Galo makes a noise that could be a laugh if he wasn't so close to tears. "I definitely _feel_ like an idiot. Those memories are so humiliating. I used to be so desperate for your approval. Hell, even just your acknowledgment. All that stupid artsy stuff that I made at school, I gave to you because I didn't have parents to give it to. And you threw it all away, didn't you?"

There's no real need to respond, since Galo is well-aware of the answer, but Kray nods anyway. "Why are you here, Galo?" He asks. "Surely it's not because you're expecting some sort of pity."

"No." Galo shakes his head. He's an idiot, sure, but he's not _that_ stupid. This isn't about being comforted, it's about finding closure. If not for himself, then for Lio. "I wanted to ask you something while I still have the chance." Because in a few days, Kray will be dead and he'll never know. He takes a deep breath. "Why didn't you kill me sooner? If I was such a nuisance, so annoying, and in your way… If you hated me, why didn't you just get rid of me?"

Whatever the answer is, Galo already knows that he's not going to like it. It's not going to make him feel better. But he _needs_ to know.

Kray still isn't saying anything, so Galo pushes. "Why did you explain everything to me and then just put me in a cell? You could have just shot me or something there in your office. Why the extra effort?" He hates how desperate he sounds, but desperation is accurate.

 _Why?_ By all accounts, Galo shouldn't have left that meeting with Kray alive, so _why?_ Why did he? Why is he still alive, victorious?

It feels like an oversight. Like Galo is looking at an image that's missing the last few pieces. If there's one thing that Kray is, it's meticulous. So why is Galo, of all people, here when so many others aren't?

" _Why_?" Kray repeats. He shifts in his seat, leaning back. His rigid posture turns into a slouch and his eyes open far enough to fix Galo with his stare. There's no emotion to be found in his eyes. Not even hatred — not anymore. "Ignoring you was the smartest option. My failure was in letting my emotions get the better of me." Kray shakes his head, makes a little click with his tongue. As if he's a father mildly disappointed with a B on his kid's test. "You see, Galo, I did what I did for the survival of the human race. I used the Burnish to open the warp drive because they were the only feasible option we had to do so in such a narrow time frame. I didn't do it because I enjoyed killing them. It was a means to an end. It meant nothing to me one way or the other."

And the emptiness in Kray's eyes assures Galo that he absolutely means it. He can't help it — he gets to his feet, enraged. "How can you say that?" Galo demands, shouting. "How can you look at the number of people you've killed and just _not care_?" He's shaking. He thinks that he might cry. Or throw up. Either way, Galo knows that it won't change Kray's expression.

"I didn't say that I didn't care about their deaths," Kray continues as if nothing is wrong. "They were going to die anyway, one way or other. What does it matter if they die at my hand or when the planet explodes? Death is death, Galo. The methods don't change the end result. At least with the Parnassus, they would have died accomplishing something."

This line of conversation is just going to make Galo angry. He might end up doing something stupid, like punch Kray. Or break his hand punching the wall. He tries to gather himself, forcing his fists to unclench as he sits back down. "So… What does this have to do with me?" Galo forces out, because he wants to leave and he's not going anywhere until he gets what he came for.

"Nothing." Kray blinks and there's a flicker of surprise on his face: as if he genuinely didn't expect Galo to ask such a stupid question. "This has absolutely nothing to do with you. It never did. You've always been irrelevant, Galo. It's my mistake that you even knew what was happening." He shakes his head. "I've always prided myself on my self-control. And yet, if there's one thing that has always managed to get under my skin, it's you. Maybe because you never did what I wanted you to do."

"You mean die?" Galo supplies, and he's proud when he only sounds a little bitter.

"Yes." An acknowledgment and nothing more. Not even a scathing remark about what might have been. It's as if, when Kray lost everything, he lost his hatred, too. There must be little point in harboring hatred when he's going to be dead soon. Kray continues. "You were never in the right place and you were always in the wrong ones. You had your way of wiggling into situations you had no business being a part of, like a parasite. Congress had given me full control of the city, my team of scientists were making breakthrough developments with technology, the public loved me, I had enough money to buy the world… And then there was you, the only thorn in my side. The only thing that didn't want to go as planned. Well," Kray corrects himself, "yourself, and Lio Fotia. But at least he was useful, in the end. You never had any purpose other than taking up space."

Galo doesn't leap to his feet that time, but it's a close thing. He slams his fist against the table so hard that he thinks he might have sprained something. "You… Keep his name out of your fucking mouth." He hopes that, if Lio were here, he'd be impressed by the seriousness in Galo's tone. But he would never be able to do this if Lio were here. Lio doesn't need to see this.

His defensiveness doesn't go unnoticed. Kray gives him an exasperated smile, but obliges. "I brought you down into that lab because I knew what you would say once I explained everything to you," Kray tells him. "I brought you down there because I was selfish. I wanted to see the look on your face when I tore everything away from you. That's why I bothered explaining anything to you at all, that's why I left you alive in that cell — I just couldn't resist the opportunity to see you in pain. A bullet would have been a far quicker death than watching the planet burn while you were helpless to stop it. I shouldn't have prioritized my own _schadenfreude_. It was a mistake to indulge myself like that." He shakes his head, casual as can be. Like it doesn't matter at all. Like his actions haven't left Galo agonizing for over a year now.

"Was it worth it?" Galo asks, a whisper. He's not sure what sort of answer he's expecting. He's not sure why he's even still there.

The answer doesn't come immediately. Kray thinks about it for what feels like a long, long time. "No," he says at last. "You're right. I should have shot you in my office and been done with you. At the time, I considered it a waste of a bullet."

There are tears in his eyes, but Galo doesn't sob. When he speaks, it's to the table. It's too much for him to look at Kray. "You didn't do any of this for humanity," he says. "This was all because you wanted power."

Kray doesn't bother trying to refute him. "It doesn't matter." He jingles the cuff around his wrist pointedly. Galo doesn't look at the empty space on the left side of Kray's torso. "My motives mean nothing now. Either way, I've ended up here. We're all the same when we're dead, whether we turn to ashes or we turn to dirt. But there _is_ one benefit to all of this..."

Against his better judgment, Galo lifts his head. He glares at Kray through tears and feels a spike of anger when, even now, Kray's expression refuses to change. He's always looked at Galo like he's an insect, all the way to the end.

Kray leans forward over the table. His eyes, red and sharp, stick Galo in place like a butterfly to a corkboard. Kray's voice is almost gentle when he says, "Wherever I end up when I'm dead, at least you won't be there."

* * *

When Galo comes back from visiting Kray in prison, he doesn't talk about it. And Lio doesn't ask. He just sits on the couch with Galo, embracing him, and lets him cry. There are a million things Lio wants to say, millions of things that he wants to do to make Kray suffer for this. But none of that is what Galo needs to hear so Lio keeps it to himself. He doesn't need revenge. He doesn't need someone to burn the city to the ground for him.

Galo needs a friend, so Lio runs a hand through his hair consolingly and shushes him gently and doesn't try to get Galo to stop crying.

He's not sure how long they stay like that. An hour, maybe? At some point, Galo gets up, and he comes back with his Burning Rescue jacket on and his hands shoved into the pockets self-consciously.

"Do you mind if we go for a drive?" He asks, and Lio couldn't imagine telling him no.

He nods and gets to his feet. "Anywhere particular in mind?" Lio asks, reaching for his own jacket. He still thinks that the red and yellow is ugly, but he'll take it over being cold.

"Somewhere, yeah." Galo nods, running a hand through his hair. He isn't making eye-contact. "And, uh, bring a lighter."

Lio doesn't ask why, he just complies. With his lighter in his pocket, he climbs onto Galo's bike behind him and wraps his arms around Galo's waist. It's not for any sense of stability. He just wants to remind Galo that he's there, a silent support. Lio feels Galo give his hand a grateful squeeze, then he tugs the ignition and they're off.

They don't go as fast as Lio thought they would. As upset as Galo is, Lio figures that he wants to go on a long, fast drive. That's not what happens. Instead, Galo seems to go just below the speed limit, all the way from their apartment in downtown Promepolis to the edge of the city and into the mountains. It's like he's stalling. Putting something off. Delaying the inevitable. Lio rests his cheek against Galo's back and closes his eyes. If he wasn't so cold, he would be able to sleep like that.

He doesn't mind however long Galo takes. They'll get where they need to be, eventually. They finally have time to waste.

Galo meanders his way through the mountain road, through thick patches of evergreens that cast the path into shadow. The mid-November air is chilly and Lio presses against Galo, closer. He's radiating heat, as always. Lio inches his freezing fingers under Galo's shirt, pressing them against his stomach. He feels Galo's chest rumble with suppressed laughter and smothers a smile of his own against Galo's back. It's nice. He wishes that the laughter lasted longer, because the rest of the way to their destination passes in unchanged silence.

It's hard to say at what point Lio figured out where they were going. In some ways, he's known since they left the apartment. Where else would they end up?

They turn onto a dirt path, hidden between trunks and branches and covered by pine needles. It clearly hasn't been used in a long time. Galo slows. He stops the bike and gets off before offering Lio his hand. Lio takes it, and they walk with hands entwined to the edge of the frozen lake.

Or, where it used to be, anyway.

They stand, hand-in-hand, at what used to be the end of the shore. The dirt is long-dry, although the shift in rocks, worn away to rounded pebbles, is still noticeable where water once was. Excavation teams had managed to dig out Dr. Prometh's lab months ago, and after everything of value was found, it was covered back up and lost to time. Now there's just a huge, empty hole with water barely filling the bottom. It will be a long time until it's full again. An even longer amount of time for it to freeze over. And even if it does, Lio isn't sure if it will be safe for skating on again. It might just be that Dr. Prometh was keeping the lake frozen somehow and, left to its own devices, the lake can't get cold enough to freeze solid on its own.

He gives Galo's hand a squeeze and doesn't look at him. Lio gets the feeling that Galo wouldn't want him to. "So much has changed," he murmurs. "I don't feel any different than I did before all of this, though. I feel sort of… disconnected. Like all of this is a dream, you know?"

Galo nods. He turns to Lio, letting go of his hand to set a hand on Lio's cheek. The other takes hold of the engagement ring around his neck and Galo brings it up to his lips, pressing a kiss to the silver band while his fingers twist through Lio's hair. The sight of it makes heat race through Lio's body and he forgets that he's supposed to be cold. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But even though this is all weird and hard to get used to, I wouldn't change any of it." The smile that Galo gives him is sad. "Well, _most_ of it, anyway."

He reaches into his jacket pocket and Lio makes a soft little " _oh"_ sound when Galo pulls out a golden medal and an old photograph. The picture used to be pristine, but years of exposure to sunlight have left the colors faded. There's a neat crease running down the middle where Galo folded it to fit into his pocket.

"Are you sure?" Lio asks quietly. He knows that this is a hard choice to make and he wants to make sure that Galo isn't doing anything rash. Pushing himself might work with building his muscles, but it's not a good idea with something as fragile as his mental state.

But the smile that Galo gives him has no trace of hesitation, even if it isn't exactly happy. "Yeah, I'm sure. I still don't think I've completely moved on, or that I even can, but… I'm ready to try. I finally feel like I'm strong enough to do this."

Lio leans up to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "You've always been strong enough, Galo. I'm glad that you can finally see it. And I'm proud of you for taking this step." He pulls his lighter out of his pocket, giving Galo a supportive smile. "Do you want to do the honors, or should I?"

Handing over the photograph, Galo sets his scarred arm around Lio's waist. He closes his other fist around the medal. "Same time?" He asks.

"Together," Lio agrees.

He flicks his lighter to summon a small flame and aches for the days when he could do that with just his fingers. At the same time, Galo cranks his arm back. Flames make contact with the photo and Galo throws the medal as hard as he can. It skips down the barren, steep sides of the lake and hits the bottom with a dull splash. Lio holds the photo and burns a hole through Kray's face. Then he considers it and burns one through Galo's face, too. The fire eats its way slowly through the paper, two holes in the middle that grow out slowly toward the edges. Lio holds the photo pinched between thumb and forefinger and, when he thinks it's made enough progress, he lets go.

The wind picks it up, tears the photo in two pieces that slowly fall to ash. By the time the scraps of it hit the ground, there's nothing left to recognize.

Lio glances over at Galo, leaning into him. "Are you okay?" He asks, instead of " _Did that help?"_ because it's none of his business and he doesn't want to pry.

Galo nods and gives his waist an affectionate squeeze. "Yeah. Funny thing is, I think going to see him helped. Maybe not in the short term, but it made me realize that I can't keep ignoring the problem just because I don't like it. It's never going to get better if I avoid it." He smiles and presses a kiss to Lio's temple. "Thank you, by the way. For coming out here with me, and for everything else."

"Don't thank me yet." Lio smiles playfully. "You still have to survive the drive home. Mountain roads are just asking for me to ignore the speed limit."

"Yeah, as if you don't do that on any road regardless," says Galo with a roll of his eyes.

It feels good to see him smiling genuinely though, so Lio doesn't attempt to refute that. He just leans up and kisses Galo solidly on the lips. "But, seriously," he murmurs without pulling back. "Don't thank me. I would do this for you a hundred times over. I really am proud of you."

He doesn't get an answer. Galo just kisses him back, harder. And if Galo is crying while he does it, well, then the grin crushed against Lio's lips makes up for it. He holds Galo tighter and trusts that everything is going to be alright.

* * *

It's a lovely day, despite the January chill in the air. There's not a cloud to be seen and the sky is so, so blue. Galo is brimming with excitement and, next to him, Lio looks like he's holding the sun in his smile. Bundled up as he is, with thick jackets as stylish as he could find on the discount rack and a woolen hat pulled over his head, Lio's absolutely adorable. Galo doesn't ever tell him that, because "adorable" is on the list of words Lio doesn't like to be called, along with "cute" and "small." But Galo did spend several minutes before they left their apartment that morning telling Lio how handsome and beautiful he is, so it balances out.

"Today," Galo says into the microphone in front of him, and the crowd quiets respectfully, "I'm pleased to reveal the efforts of my first order as Governor! It's been a long and difficult road, getting to where we are now. A lot of people ended up giving up their lives, and there were a lot of difficult choices that had to be made. But all of that is in the past. It's important to remember where we've come from, but we can't cling on to all that's happened. Some things need to be put to rest." He glances over at Lio and they share a private smile before Galo continues. Turning around, he grabs hold of the tarp that's been haphazardly flung over the top of the statue he'd commissioned a month ago. "This statue is to honor those who have gotten us to where we are now, and to remind all of us of what happened so we won't repeat it."

With a flourish, Galo yanks the sheet off. Beneath it is a statue that Lio helped design. Three Burnish individuals, looking vastly different, crowd together. Their hands meet in the middle, palms facing the sky while a Burnish flare burns between them. When the statue is revealed, there's cheers and clapping from the crowd. Galo thinks that he hears crying, which isn't surprising. Lio ended up crying several times during the design process. The base has hundreds of names carved into it: every name from those that fell on the Parnassus, every name that Lio can remember from his years of working with the Burnish, every name that the community could drag out of their repressed memories. Some are full names, some are only the first or the last, and some are only nicknames or vague descriptors. The front says, simply, " _Thank You."_

Cameras go off and Galo poses with Lio, waving and smiling. It's a bittersweet day, but Galo knows that they couldn't put it off forever. This is the closest that they're going to get to a funeral, since there are no bodies to collect.

The dead have been laid to rest with honor. Galo hopes that it helps Lio and everyone else move on: that maybe this can be Lio's version of a medal sinking to the bottom of the lake and an old photo turning to ash in the wind.

With his brief speech over, the crowd disperses. Some people leave, but a lot of them come up to view the statue closer. A lot of them stop to talk to Lio and Galo gives them space. He's surprised when people come up to see him, specifically. He gets handshakes, expressions of gratitude, and a few tearful hugs. And it's incredibly humbling. All it does is reaffirm Galo's commitment to his new role as a public servant. He's _not_ going to let these people regret electing him. He changed the world once and he can do it again.

When the crowd thins to a more manageable number, Galo feels someone clap him on the shoulder. "Good job. You're doing a lot of good already," Ignis says.

"Captain!" Galo whirls around, grinning, and just barely restrains himself from throwing his arms around Ignis. "You came! I thought you had a shift today?"

Ignis waves him off, unconcerned. "Oh, I got Remi to cover for me. He's going to need the experience to be my replacement, anyway. Training those two idiots will look great on his resumé."

"Replacement?" Galo's smile falls. "Are you… going to quit Burning Rescue?" He legitimately can't imagine it. It was hard enough for Galo to sign the resignation forms himself. And for his co-workers, it would be unthinkable. But Captain Ignis? He's the best of them and he loves his job. Galo can't understand it.

"Oh, not for another year or so, I'd say," Ignis says mildly. "You know, Galo, I've been a firefighter for a long time. Probably longer than you've been alive. I've spent so much time fighting because I thought we had to stop the Burnish, a last-line of defense. There's more to life than fighting, though. And lately, you've got me thinking. Life is too short to settle down in one city, only ever doing one thing. Never taking the chance to see what's out there. I think I'll at least travel for a few years, see what I've been missing out on." He smiles and it looks faraway. "The planet might be here for a while longer, but I won't be. I wanted to thank you for reminding me of that."

Galo works his mouth soundlessly, stunned. He honestly doesn't know how to reply.

" _And_ ," Ignis says before Galo has to make a decision, "I wanted to give you this." He pulls an envelope with the Burning Rescue emblem on it and hands it to Galo. "Your final paycheck. It's been an honor to serve with you, Governor Thymos."

Shit. Those are definitely tears in his eyes. Galo scrubs at them furiously with his free hand and puts the check away before he crumples it. "I'll come back," he says, even though he's not sure if it's true. "When I'm done here, I wanna come back. I can't imagine going the rest of my life without fighting a fire again."

Ignis shakes his head, smiling fondly. "Seems to me that your life only got better once you _stopped_ fighting fires. You nurtured one instead, and look where it got you." He gestures over his shoulder, to Lio who's laughing with a member of the former-Burnish community, and Galo's breath catches in his throat. "Don't be so single-minded. It's a big world, Galo. There's a lot still left for you to do." Ignis ruffles his hair fondly. "But whatever you choose to do, I want you to know that I'm proud of you. We all are."

After that, Ignis leaves. But not before Galo gets his hug after all. He wishes that the others could be there, but duty calls. Gueira and Meis were invited, though they both have aversions to crowds. Particularly ones that are going to be filmed and photographed. So they'll be swinging by later to see the statue, Galo knows. But once the rest of the people clear out, and it's just him and Lio standing there side-by-side…

Galo leans against the base of the statue. He's holding Lio's hand and, with the other, he brushes over a name right near the top of the base. He knows right where this one is because he had it placed there specifically. _Thyma_. And next to it, _Yu_. Easy to find. Galo traces them both with his thumb and stands tall when Lio has to lean on him for support.

"I know that there are names I forgot," Lio whispers. Not really to Galo — it's more like he just wants to say it. Like a confession. "People that I didn't care about at the time. People that I didn't find out about until it was too late. People that never gave me their names at all. There are so many, Galo… How many more do you think have slipped my mind completely?"

He wraps his arms around Lio fully, tucking Lio's head against his chest and embracing him tightly. "I think, wherever they are now, they understand. And they forgive you," Galo whispers. It's all he can think to say.

It must help, because Lio doesn't cry, although he also doesn't come up for air for a long time. Galo thinks, wearily, that they're out of tears to cry. Like they've squeezed that part of themselves dry.

And if that part is empty, then there's room to fill the cavern left behind with something new.

* * *

Construction completed just the day before. Lio finds that fitting: it's February now, and the start of a new month heralds in new beginnings.

"It's nice," Lio says approvingly as he looks around. He sets the box he's carrying — Galo's new computer, Lucia Fex approved and running with her new and improved operating system and firewall — down on the Governor's desk and cranes his neck to see every inch of the new office.

For all of his many, _many_ faults (so many that Lio could write a book about it), Kray Foresight certainly had an eye for architecture. The new city hall building isn't located downtown. It's on the edge of Promepolis, actually, closer to the mountains that border the city on one side. It's loosely based on Kray's old design, without the gaudy overhang and the pointlessly big and empty rooms.

There are triangle patterns on the floor and Galo chose a warm, wooden theme for the building instead of the cool white marble that Kray had been so fond of. His office has wooden paneling for the floors and the walls are blue and pink and yellow, swirls and circles interwoven and bleeding into each other so that it makes the entire room look like a work of art. It should be an eyesore, but it isn't. Something about knowing Galo had a hand in it just makes Lio feel so warm.

There's things other than the computer in the box that Lio was carrying. He pulls out a slim picture frame — once, it held a picture of Galo and Kray from Galo's first day at Burning Rescue. Now, it holds a picture of Galo and Lio from Galo's inauguration, embracing each other and laughing in the middle of attempting to kiss. Looking at it, Lio can't help the smile that comes to his face. The picture frame is the first thing on Galo's desk, and it feels like flipping a page. Like starting a new chapter.

Footsteps echo on the hardwood floor as Galo approaches from behind and Lio turns to face him, leaning against the desk. "Glad you like it. You're the First Gentleman, after all. Your opinion carries a lot of weight," Galo says smartly. He's smiling so hard that his eyes are crinkled up, sparkling with joy. He takes hold of Lio's hand; kisses the back of it.

Lio scoffs to hide the flush to his face, though he doesn't bother trying to take his hand back. "That is _not_ what I'm going to be called." Of course, then Galo opens his mouth. Lio quiets him by pressing a finger to his lips. "If your suggestion has anything to do with fire, that's also out."

He feels smug for a moment while Galo thinks, stumped. It doesn't last long. Galo's grin returns full force and he wiggles his eyebrows. "We could just call you _Boss_."

That gets Lio to laugh. It shouldn't, because it's not that funny, but he feels so _good_. He feels so happy and hopeful and in love. Adoration chokes him until Lio has to stop laughing so he can remind himself how to breathe. "Nice try, but I think you're the boss, now," Lio reminds him warmly.

He lets go of Galo's hand to walk over to the large set of windows that dominates the far wall. It's a stunning view, honestly. Somewhere in the thick of the forest and the mountains, there's the crater of a lake. And it won't be filled today, or tomorrow, and probably not even a month from now. But it will return to its former glory, one day. Healing takes time.

Of course, turning his back on Galo is just asking to be hugged from behind, and that's exactly what Galo does. With his arms around Lio's waist, he presses a kiss to Lio's head and they stare at their reflections in the window.

"Do you think they'll let me go shirtless in my office?" Galo asks after a soft silence. He's started rocking them gently, tilting Lio from side to side almost like a parody of a dance. "I mean, it's _my_ office, isn't it? And I'm the governor. Who's gonna tell me no? Especially when suits are _so_ uncomfortable. I'm thinking that everyone should be allowed to go shirtless if they want to."

Lio takes one of Galo's hands and brings it to his mouth, smiling against Galo's palm before pressing a kiss there. "I don't see why not." He leans back, closing his eyes. "Thank you, by the way. For everything. I don't think I ever told you that."

Galo lifts his hands to cup Lio's face, bending awkwardly to press their mouths together in a soft kiss. It would be more romantic if the position didn't hurt Lio's neck, so he ends up pulling away before long. "Hey, don't thank me yet," Galo teases. "We're not done."

That's true. And not just when it comes to policy-making. Lio twists his fingers through the chain around his neck, running his thumb over the engraving on his engagement ring. "Promise me that, when we eventually get married, we'll do it in some filthy casino on the other side of the country. I don't want to have to deal with the press," Lio says. Governor Thymos-Fotia has such a nice ring to it. Or maybe Fotia-Thymos. They'll have to flip a coin or something to decide that one.

"Deal." Galo laughs, but he agrees earnestly enough. He pulls back, turning Lio to face him again. Entwining their hands, Galo's smile softens as he says, "I love you."

There's no hesitation — not anymore. Lio squeezes his hands and replies, "I know. I love you, too." Then Lio steps away and walks back over to Galo's desk. From the box that he set there, Lio pulls a thick stack of papers. "And you're right: our work is far from over."

It won't be easy. There are still people to stand against them, still so much that needs to be fixed, still countless miles of red tape to drag the process out as long as possible. Lio thumbs through the stack of potential laws and proposals in the making and he feels a little overwhelmed by it all.

But there's light at the end of the tunnel now: Lio can see it, the glorious future that they're building together finally coming to fruition. All of this work isn't for nothing. And it _will_ pay off. This office is proof enough of what Lio and Galo can accomplish together — as if saving the world didn't already prove it.

The smile on Galo's face is achingly fond. "I love you _so much_ ," he sighs, and before Lio can respond, he's already being pulled into a sweeping kiss.

This one, Lio can't bring himself to break. He grins into it and wraps his arms around Galo's neck; surges into him like the tide being dragged forward by the moon. Another sort of dance, the undeniable gravity between them keeping Lio pressed against Galo far longer than he should be.

And it's perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I suggest listening to Inferno on full blast and trying not to cry.
> 
> _All my life_  
>  _been searching for_  
>  _the place I lost,_  
>  _it's what I adore._  
>  _And all my life_  
>  _been hoping for_  
>  _a happy life for me._
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I also have a Tumblr **[HERE](https://karkalicious769.tumblr.com/)** featuring some other links if you guys want to support my writing!


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